Practice question · Numerical answer
Lysosomal enzymes work best at pH 5, while the cytoplasm sits at pH 7. How many times more concentrated are hydrogen ions inside the lysosome?
Hints
- Each pH unit is a tenfold change in hydrogen-ion concentration.
- Two pH units means 10 squared.
Show the answer
100 (answers within ±1 count)
Why
Two pH units is a 100-fold difference in hydrogen-ion concentration. Maintaining that gradient costs the cell energy continuously, and it buys a containment strategy: leaked enzymes meet a pH at which they barely function.
Practise The Endomembrane System
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