The Chemistry of Life: Atoms, Bonds, Water, Acids and Bases
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Ch 2 The chemistry of life
2.1 Atoms make up all matter • A. Elements are fundamental types of matter • Elements are pure substances • They are organized into the periodic table of elements. • Only about 25 elements are essential to living things. • C,H,O,N are the most abundant • Minerals are essential elements other than CHON • P, Na, Mg, K, Ca are bulk elements- others are trace elements and you need only a small amount • You can get very sick from missing minerals in your diet!
B. Atoms are particles of elements • Atom- smallest unit of matter(made of protons, neutrons and electrons) • Protons and electrons are equal- if not the atom is an ion(it has a net charge) these are important to living things. • C. isotopes have different numbers of neutrons- • Mass numbers= protons + neutrons • Isotopes are atoms with a varying number of neutrons- these can be radioactive- each radioactive isotope has a characteristic half life- these are important for science and medicine
2.2 Chemical bonds link atoms • Molecule- two or more atoms chemically bonded together. • Compound- molecule composed of two or more different elements. • Characteristics of a compound are very different than the characteristics of the elements that make it up. • A. electrons determine bonding- orbitals, energy shell, valence shell- know these terms
B. Covalent bonds share electrons • Most of the bonds in biological molecules are covalent bonds. • They are not always shared equally as is the case with electronegativity. • Nonpolar covalent bond- attractive force of each nucleus of the atoms is equal. • Polar covalent bonds- like in water- one atom exerts a greater attractive force. Oxygen is highly electronegative, so water is a polar molecule.
C. Ionic bonds transfer electrons • Ionic bonds result from the attractive force between ions. • Salt is an example (NaCl) • D. Partial charges on polar molecules create hydrogen bonds • In a hydrogen bond, opposite partial charges on adjacent molecules-or within a single large molecule- attract each other. • Relatively weak bond that is very important in biology.
2.3 water is essential to life.A. Water is cohesive and adhesive • Hydrogen bonds contribute to water being cohesive • Cohesion- tendency of water to stick together(think surface tension) • Adhesion is the tendency of water to form hydrogen bonds with other substances(think capillary action)
B. Many substances dissolve in water • Water is essential to life because it can dissolve many substances. • Solvent- does the dissolving (aqueous means water is the solvent) • Solute- what is being dissolved • Solution- made of one or more solutes dissolved in a given solvent
2 categories of chemicals based on affinity for water • Hydrophilic- either polar or charged and dissolves easily in water(sugar, salt, ions like electrolytes) • Hydrophobic- nonpolar molecules made of carbon and hydrogen like fats and oils do not dissolve in water.
C. Water regulates temperature • Water resists temperature change. • A lot of heat is needed to evaporate water.
D. Water expands as it freezes • Helps keep ponds from freezing from the bottom up.
E. Water participates in Life’s chemical reactions • Life depends on thousands of simultaneous chemical reactions. • A chemical reaction occurs when two or more molecules swap their atoms to yield different molecules. • Reactants- starting materials • Products- ending materials
2.4 organisms balance acids and bases • A chemically neutral solution would have the same number of H+ and OH- ions. • An acid is a chemical that adds H+ ions making them outnumber the OH- ions. (examples, H2SO4 and HCl) • A base is opposite of an acid: it makes the concentration of OH- ions greater. (examples, baking soda and NaOH) • Acids and bases neutralize each other. • Both are important in every day life.
A. The pH scale expresses acidity or alkalinity • 7 is neutral • pH < 7 is an acid • pH > 7 is a base • All organisms have pH requirements. Human blood should be between 7.35 to 7.45. • Too much variation either direction can be deadly
B. Buffer systems regulate pH • pH is regulated in living things by buffering systems. These are pairs of weak acids and bases that resist changes in pH.