MHT CET Medical202624 April 2026Morning ShiftChemistryBiomoleculesActual
O ₂ gas has very low solubility in water. However, its solubility in blood is excessively high. This is because of
Options
- Awater is less viscous than blood
- Bblood is colloidal mixture
- Cbinding of O ₂ molecule to hemoglobin in blood.
- Dblood has low pressure
Correct answer
C. binding of O ₂ molecule to hemoglobin in blood.
Step-by-step solution
Oxygen is a non-polar molecule, so it has very low solubility in polar solvents like water. In blood, oxygen binds reversibly with the iron-containing protein hemoglobin present in red blood cells to form oxyhemoglobin. This chemical binding significantly increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood compared to simple physical dissolution in water. Answer: binding of O ₂ molecule to hemoglobin in blood.