The heat of combusion of glycogen is about `476 kJ mol^(-1)` of carbon. Assume that average heat loss by an adult male is `150W`. If we were to assume that all the heat comes from oxidation of glycogen, how many units of glycogen `(1mol` carbon per unit) must be oxidised per day to provide for this heat loss?

Explanation

Total enegry required in the day
`= (150 xx24 xx 60 xx 60)/(1000) kJ (1 watt = J s^(-1))`
`= 12960 kJ`
Units of glycogen required `= (12960)/(476) = 27.22` units