I live in the stomach and I am inactive. I really want to be active so I can help my body digest proteins. I use HCI to convert to an active form. Who am I?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The riddle sets the scene in the stomach and describes something that starts in an inactive form and is activated by HCl to help digest proteins. 
Option a: Pepsinogen. This is the correct choice because pepsinogen is the inactive zymogen produced by chief cells in the stomach. It is activated to pepsin by the acidic environment created by hydrochloric acid (HCl). Once active as pepsin, it begins protein digestion. 
Option b: Pepsin. Pepsin is the active enzyme that digests proteins, not the inactive form that requires activation. The clue explicitly says the entity is inactive and needs HCl to become active, so pepsin cannot be the right choice. 
Option c: Gastrin. Gastrin is a hormone, not an enzyme. It stimulates acid secretion in the stomach but does not become activated into a protease to digest proteins, so it does not fit the clue about activation by HCl to digest protein. 
Option d: Pepsinasterase. This term does not correspond to a known enzyme involved in digestion, making it incorrect due to nonexistent or erroneous naming. 
Option e: Gastrinase. This is not a recognized enzyme or molecule in human digestion; it does not align with the concept of an inactive precursor activated by acid to aid digestion. 
Overall, the only option that matches the description of an inactive precursor in the stomach that is activated by HCl to digest proteins is pepsinogen.

BIO 181 (001&002) FALL 2025 REQUIRED: Check your Learning: Preparing for Exam 4: Transport Review Quiz (10 questions in 10 minutes!) (Sorry, no extended due date.) (Remember that Exam 4 is cumulative, and will also cover material from the entire term.)

I live in the stomach and I am inactive. I really want to be active so I can help my body digest proteins. I use HCI to convert to an active form. Who am I?

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