How is hydrolysis defined?

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Multiple Choice

How is hydrolysis defined?

Hydrolysis is the chemical breakdown of a compound caused by reaction with water. In hydrolysis, a water molecule is incorporated into the bond that’s being cleaved, so the bond splits and two new molecules form. The water supplies an H to one fragment and an OH to the other, effectively splitting the original molecule. This is the opposite of dehydration synthesis, where two molecules join and a molecule of water is released. Think of esters turning into an alcohol plus a carboxylic acid, or starch being broken down into simpler sugars, by adding water. In biology, ATP hydrolysis is a classic example where water helps break a phosphate bond, yielding energy for cellular processes. The other descriptions don’t fit because they describe electron transfer (redox), making water from hydrogen and oxygen (water formation), or splitting by heat without involving water.

Hydrolysis is the chemical breakdown of a compound caused by reaction with water. In hydrolysis, a water molecule is incorporated into the bond that’s being cleaved, so the bond splits and two new molecules form. The water supplies an H to one fragment and an OH to the other, effectively splitting the original molecule. This is the opposite of dehydration synthesis, where two molecules join and a molecule of water is released.

Think of esters turning into an alcohol plus a carboxylic acid, or starch being broken down into simpler sugars, by adding water. In biology, ATP hydrolysis is a classic example where water helps break a phosphate bond, yielding energy for cellular processes.

The other descriptions don’t fit because they describe electron transfer (redox), making water from hydrogen and oxygen (water formation), or splitting by heat without involving water.

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