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?

Options

A. 29.6 units
B. 27.22 units
C. 25.9 units
D. 21.8 units

Explanation

To solve the problem, we need to determine how many moles of glycogen must be oxidized per day to meet the heat loss of an adult male. Here’s a step-by-step solution:

### Step 1: Calculate the total heat loss in a day
The average heat loss by an adult male is given as 150 watts. Since 1 watt is equal to 1 joule per second, we can convert this to kilojoules per day.

\[ \text{Total heat loss (in joules)} = 150 \, \text{W} \times 24 \, \text{hours} \times 60 \, \text{minutes} \times 60 \, \text{seconds} \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ 150 \, \text{J/s} \times 86400 \, \text{s} = 12,960,000 \, \text{J} \]

Now, converting joules to kilojoules:

\[ \text{Total heat loss (in kilojoules)} = \frac{12,960,000 \, \text{J}}{1000} = 12,960 \, \text{kJ} \]

### Step 2: Use the heat of combustion of glycogen
The heat of combustion of glycogen is given as 476 kJ per mole of carbon.

### Step 3: Calculate the number of moles of glycogen required
To find the number of moles of glycogen that must be oxidized to provide the total heat loss, we can use the formula:

\[ \text{Number of moles of glycogen} = \frac{\text{Total heat loss (in kJ)}}{\text{Heat of combustion (in kJ/mol)}} \]

Substituting the values:

\[ \text{Number of moles of glycogen} = \frac{12,960 \, \text{kJ}}{476 \, \text{kJ/mol}} \approx 27.22 \, \text{moles} \]

### Conclusion
Thus, the number of units of glycogen that must be oxidized per day to provide for this heat loss is approximately **27.22 units**.