(10 pts) Capsaicin is the compound that makes hot peppers spicy. This compound reversibly binds 1....
(10 pts) Capsaicin is the compound that makes hot peppers spicy. This compound reversibly binds 1. to the same protein that detects heat in our bodies. For that reason, when we eat spicy food we experience a "burning" sensation. The spice level in different types of peppers is measured in Scoville units. A Scoville unit refers to the number of times a pepper extract has to be diluted in order for a panel of people to no longer detect the heat. For example, a Jalapeño pepper ranks about ~5000 units. This means that liquid extracted from a Jalapeño must be diluted 5000 times before the heat is no longer detectable to the palate. The spiciest peppers known, such as the Carolina Reaper, have about 3 million Scoville units of heat. Imagine you watch a show on TV claiming that the Carolina Reaper pepper is 600 times spicier than a Jalapeño (3 million divided by 5 thousand), since you know the thermodynamics of chemical equilibria, you can make a more nuanced assessment of that claim. Explain why or why not the TV host above might or might not be correct. Clearly state any assumptions and use equations if necessary.