American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam (ABS QE) Practice Test

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How many grams of protein are equivalent to 1 gram of nitrogen?

5 grams
6.25 grams
7 grams
8 grams

The correct answer is: 6.25 grams

The relationship between protein and nitrogen is a fundamental concept in biochemistry and nutrition. Proteins are made up of amino acids, and the average nitrogen content of proteins is typically around 16%. This means that if you have 1 gram of nitrogen, you can estimate the corresponding amount of protein by using the inverse of that percentage. To calculate the amount of protein per gram of nitrogen, the formula used is: 1 gram of nitrogen x (100 grams of protein / 16 grams of nitrogen) = 6.25 grams of protein. This calculation shows that 1 gram of nitrogen is equivalent to approximately 6.25 grams of protein. This value is widely accepted in the field of nutrition and is important for understanding dietary protein requirements, nitrogen balance in clinical settings, and in research related to protein metabolism. The remaining options present values that do not correctly reflect the average ratio of protein to nitrogen. Therefore, the choice of 6.25 grams is substantiated by the standard biochemical understanding of protein composition.