A bobcat is feeding on a white-tailed deer. It first eats the liver, which is rich in stored sugars. In what form would sugar be stored in the deer’s liver?

Question

A.  Glucose
B.  Maltose
C.  Glycogen
D.  Amylose
E.  Cellulose

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
· What type of thinking is required?
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?

Gather Content
· What do you know about stored sugars in animals? How does it relate to the question?

Consider Possibilities  
· What other information is related to the question? Which information is most useful?

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

C.  Glycogen

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o The question asks about how sugars are stored in an organ in animals.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o You are being asked to apply your knowledge of the storage of sugars in animals to a specific example.
· What key words does the question contain and what do they mean?
        o Deer liver – this is an organ from an animal.
        o Stored sugars – these are complex sugars stored for long term use as opposed to simple sugars in the blood stream for immediate use.

Gather Content
· What do you know about stored sugars in animals? How does it relate to the question?
        o For long term storage of sugars, plants and animals use complex carbohydrates.  These complex carbohydrates contain multiple glucose molecules stuck together with a1-4 linkages.  In animals this is called glycogen while in plants it is amylose or starch.

Consider Possibilities  
· What other information is related to the question? Which information is most useful?
        o For short term use, monosaccharides and disaccharides are used more often.  Examples include glucose and maltose.
        o Some structural complex carbohydrates are made up of b1-4 linkages.  The most common example is cellulose in plants.

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o The correct answer is glycogen.  Liver glycogen is used to keep blood glucose levels constant.  If blood glucose becomes low, liver glycogen is broken down, releasing glucose into the blood.  If blood glucose rises, some is taken up by the liver and converted into glycogen.

Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o This question asked you to apply the definitions of different carbohydrates to explain which would be found in the liver of a deer. If you got the correct answer, great job! If you got an incorrect answer, where did the process break down? Did you recall which forms of carbohydrate would be found in animals?  Did you recall which would be used for long term energy storage?