Biology – Energy | e-Consult

Information provided: The table shows that glucose has an RQ of 1 and fatty acids have an RQ of 1. This indicates that both glucose and fatty acids are primarily respired aerobically. Lactic acid fermentation is an anaerobic process.

Calculation: In anaerobic respiration, only a small amount of oxygen is required. For every mole of lactic acid produced, only one mole of CO₂ is produced and no O₂ is consumed. Therefore, the RQ for lactic acid is: RQ = (1 mole CO₂) / (0 moles O₂) = undefined or cannot be calculated using the standard RQ formula. However, in practice, it is often considered to be 0.

Answer: The RQ value for lactic acid is 0.