Question

Spermaceti is a-
a. Sweetener
b. Animal wax
c. Mineral wax
d. Defensive protein

Answer 1

Hint: A waxy material that has been found in smaller amounts in the head cavities of marine mammals. It is created by an oil-filled sac in the domed forehead, which is used to help regulate buoyancy.

Complete answer:
> Option A is incorrect. All sweeteners that add calories or food energy and are metabolizable include nutritional sweeteners. Sugars, syrups, molasses, sugar alcohols or polyols, and honey form the category of dietary sweeteners. When selecting polyols, multiple variables must be considered.

> Option B is correct. Spermaceti, a wax derived from the head of a sperm whale or bottlenose whale, is a liquid at body temperature. For the finishing of ointments, topical creams, fine wax candles, pomades, and textiles, Spermaceti was initially used; it was later used in industrial lubricants.

> Option C is incorrect. Mineral waxes are naturally occurring products with little or no alcohol or ester present in plant waxes and beeswax. Mineral waxes are typically derived from petroleum, shale oil, lignite, or coal fractional distillation.

> Option D is incorrect. Antibodies are protective proteins that have binding sites that enable them to recognise and bind to very specific foreign molecules in their three-dimensional structure. They can help neutralise them and tag them by binding to foreign proteins, enabling their swallowing and removal by protective cells.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Sperm whales are named for the spermaceti found on their heads, a waxy material that has been used in oil lamps and candles. Their domed forehead contains an oil-filled sac used as part of their equipment for echolocation. Helping the sperm whale hunt down giant squid is the most probable explanation it has grown to such an extreme scale.