Suppose a Person Buys Only Fruits and Vegetables While at the Grocery

question 18

Essay

Suppose a person buys only fruits and vegetables while at the grocery store, even though he or she hates fruits and vegetables and would much rather eat junk food. Much of the produce goes bad before it is consumed and must be thrown out. What name is given to this kind of behavior? Is it rational?

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Definitions:

Interstitial Fluid

Fluid that surrounds the body’s cells; consists of dissolved substances that leave the blood capillaries by filtration and diffusion.

Metabolism

The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms to convert food into energy, and build or maintain their cells.

First Messenger

Chemical signal, such as a peptide hormone, that binds to a plasma membrane receptor protein and alters the metabolism of a cell because a second messenger is activated.

Second Messenger

Chemical signal, such as cyclic AMP, that causes the cell to respond to the first messenger—a hormone bound to a plasma membrane receptor protein.