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Urea is more toxic than ammonia
❌ Incorrect – Urea is less toxic than ammonia. That’s one of the reasons organisms like humans convert ammonia into urea before excreting it. -
Urea is produced in kidneys
❌ Incorrect – Urea is produced in the liver, via the urea cycle. The kidneys excrete urea from the blood, but do not produce it. -
Urea is energetically more expensive to produce than ammonia
✅ Correct – The conversion of ammonia to urea requires ATP, making it energetically more expensive than directly excreting ammonia. -
Urea is never present in human blood
❌ Incorrect – Urea is present in human blood and is routinely measured as Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN). It is transported from the liver to the kidneys via the bloodstream.
✅ Correct statement:
3. Urea is energetically more expensive to produce than ammonia