Final answer:
The liver typically metabolizes alcohol at a rate of 1 ounce per hour, but this can vary. Women tend to metabolize alcohol slower than men.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rate at which the liver can metabolize alcohol before becoming intoxicated is typically 1 ounce of alcohol per hour. This rate can vary by individual factors such as sex, with women metabolizing alcohol a little more slowly than men. It's important to consider that heavy drinking can engage the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS) to metabolize most of the excess alcohol ingested, although this is not an immediate response and is a result of chronic alcohol consumption. To avoid alcohol toxicity, it's essential to give the liver enough time to fully metabolize the alcohol ingested.