Lactic acid

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lactic-acid

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the chemical formula?C3H6O3
2. What is the primary biological enantiomer?L-lactic acid (S-lactic acid)
3. What is lactic acid and why does it appear in my muscles when I run fast?Lactic acid, also called lactate, is made by muscles when they break down sugar for quick energy. It helps give your muscles a fast fuel boost during intense running.
4. Why does my blood have more lactic acid after a hard workout?During tough exercise, muscles produce more lactate than other parts of the body can use, so its level rises in the blood.

Pyruvate: A key molecule produced during glucose breakdown, which can be converted to lactate.
Hypoxia: A condition where the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply.
Gluconeogenesis: The metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates.
Enantiomers: Stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other.