Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 169 views

    L1 L2 Chemical Basis of Life - Complete

    Uploaded by

    Geethanjali Sivakumar
    1. Carbon is the primary building block of cells due to its ability to form large, complex organic molecules through bonding with itself and other elements. 2. Water is essential to life as the solvent in which biochemical reactions take place and as a major component of living cells. Its polar nature and ability to dissociate into hydronium and hydroxide ions allow it to serve as a solvent and participate in acid-base reactions. 3. Macromolecules are polymers of smaller organic subunits or monomers linked by condensation reactions. The four major classes of macromolecules that form the basis of living matter are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    L1 L2 Chemical Basis of Life - Complete

    Uploaded by

    Geethanjali Sivakumar
    169 views38 pages
    1. Carbon is the primary building block of cells due to its ability to form large, complex organic molecules through bonding with itself and other elements. 2. Water is essential to life as the solvent in which biochemical reactions take place and as a major component of living cells. Its polar nature and ability to dissociate into hydronium and hydroxide ions allow it to serve as a solvent and participate in acid-base reactions. 3. Macromolecules are polymers of smaller organic subunits or monomers linked by condensation reactions. The four major classes of macromolecules that form the basis of living matter are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

    Original Description:

    Cell Bio Topic 1

    Original Title

    L1 L2 Chemical Basis of Life_Complete

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    1. Carbon is the primary building block of cells due to its ability to form large, complex organic molecules through bonding with itself and other elements. 2. Water is essential to life as the solvent in which biochemical reactions take place and as a major component of living cells. Its polar nature and ability to dissociate into hydronium and hydroxide ions allow it to serve as a solvent and participate in acid-base reactions. 3. Macromolecules are polymers of smaller organic subunits or monomers linked by condensation reactions. The four major classes of macromolecules that form the basis of living matter are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    169 views38 pages

    L1 L2 Chemical Basis of Life - Complete

    Uploaded by

    Geethanjali Sivakumar
    1. Carbon is the primary building block of cells due to its ability to form large, complex organic molecules through bonding with itself and other elements. 2. Water is essential to life as the solvent in which biochemical reactions take place and as a major component of living cells. Its polar nature and ability to dissociate into hydronium and hydroxide ions allow it to serve as a solvent and participate in acid-base reactions. 3. Macromolecules are polymers of smaller organic subunits or monomers linked by condensation reactions. The four major classes of macromolecules that form the basis of living matter are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 38

    CHEMICAL BASIS OF LIFE

    Lecture Outline

    • Matter, atom, element and compound


    • Different types of chemical bonds
    • Water: The most abundant substance in cells
    • Importance of Carbon: Cells formation
    What forms
    matters?
    Element

    • Matter - anything that has mass and occupy


    space
    • Made of elements
     Substance that cannot be broken down to other
    substances by chemical reactions
    • Each element has a chemical symbol
    Periodic Table of Elements
    Element

    • 92 naturally occurring elements


    • 25 essential for life
     C, O, H, N  compose 96% of living matters
     Ca, P, K, S, Na, Cl, Mg and trace elements  remaining
    4%
     B, Cr, Co, Cu, F, I, Fe, etc  Trace elements (low
    quantities, but are essential)
    • Atom – the smallest unit of matter that is unique to
    a particular element
     Retains the physical and chemical properties of its
    element
    Atomic Structure

    • Atoms of all elements contain


    subatomic particles
    • Atoms of the same element share
    the same chemical properties
    • 3 subatomic particle types:
     Protons
     Neutrons
     Electrons
    • Atomic structure determines
    behavior of an element
    Subatomic Particle

    • Protons
     Found in the nucleus
     Carry a positive charge
     Number of protons = number
    of electrons
    (normally)
     Numbers do not vary
     Numbers are specific for each
    element
    Subatomic Particle

    • Neutrons
     Found in the nucleus
     Electrically neutral
     Numbers can vary
     Isotope
     Radioactive isotope
    Isotope

    • Isotope of an element has


    the same atomic number but
    different mass number
     Same number of protons, but
    different number of neutrons
    • Different isotopes of same
    element react chemically in
    the same way
    Radioactive Isotope

    • An unstable isotope that


    spontaneously emits nuclear
    particles and/or energy
    • Loss of nuclear particles may
    transform one element into
    another
    • Isotopes have half life
     Time for 50% of radioactive
    atoms in a sample to decay
    Subatomic Particle

    • Electrons
     Orbit the nucleus
     Carry a negative charge
     Number of electrons = number of protons (normally)
     Held in orbits by the electrostatic attraction to
    nucleus protons
     Lowest potential energy  Closest to nucleus
     Highest potential energy  Furthest from nucleus
     Not fixed in a single orbit  Move from one energy
    level to another  Gain or loss energy
    Subatomic Particle

    • Electrons
    Atomic Number

    • Designated by the number of


    protons in a particular
    element
    • Eg: sodium has 11 protons
     Nomenclature: 11Na
    • In neutral atom, proton and
    electron number is equal Sodium
    Summary of Atomic Structure
    Valence Shell and Valence Electron

    • Electrons in the outermost shell  Determines the


    chemical properties of atom
    • Octet rule  Valence shell is complete when it
    contains eight electrons  inert or unreactive atom
     Eg. Helium, argon, neon
    • Atoms without complete valence shell  chemically
    reactive
     Responsible for atom’s binding capacity  Interacting
    with other atoms
     Results Formation of chemical bonds until 8 electrons
    fill valence shell
    Chemical Bonding

    • Chemical bonds  Attraction that holds a molecule


    together
     Molecule  2 or more atoms
    • Chemical formula
     Represents types and numbers of atoms in each molecule
     No indication of bonds arrangement
     Eg. NaCl, H2O
    • Structural formula
     Represents the atoms and bonding within a molecule
     Line represents the bond (Eg. H-H)
    Chemical Bonding

    Chemical
    formula: H2O
    Structural
    formula:
    Chemical Bonding
    Chemical Bonding

    • Types:
    1. Covalent bond
     Formed by sharing pairs of valence electrons
     Strong chemical bond (Eg. H2, O2, N2)
     Single  share a pair of valence electrons
     Double  share 2 pairs of valence electrons
     Triple  share 3 pairs of valence electrons
     Double and triple  rigid bonds and no rotation
    allowed
    Chemical Bonding

    • Types:
    2. Ionic bond
     Formed by electrostatic attraction  Complete
    transfer of an electron from a donor atom to an
    acceptor
     Forms an ion
     Anion  Atom that has gained 1 or more electrons from
    another atom  Negatively charged
     Cation  Atom that has lost 1 or more electrons 
    Positively charged
     Strong in crystal form but weak in water
    Chemical Bonding

    • Types:
    3. Weak chemical bonds
     Temporary associations  Form reversible bonds
    briefly  Stabilize tertiary structure of large
    molecules
     Hydrogen bonds
     Formed when a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to an
    electronegative atom
     20x weaker than covalent bond  Easy to break
     Van der Waals forces
     Occur when molecules are close to each other
     Hydrophobic interactions
    What are the
    major
    components of
    our body?
    Water

    • Chemical formula?
    • Contributes to the ideal environment to
    support life
    • Living cells composed of 70 – 95% water
    • Water covers 75% of earth’s surface
    • Can naturally occurs in all 3 physical states
     Solid, liquid, gas
    • A polar molecule held together by hydrogen
    bonding
    Dissociation of Water
    • Hydrogen bonds are continuously broken and formed
     Hydrogen atoms of a water molecule are usually shared in a hydrogen
    bond with two other water molecules  Maintains liquidity
    • Occasionally, hydrogen atom shifts from one oxygen atom to
    another oxygen atom which is hydrogen bonded
     Only proton is transferred, not the electron
     Transferred proton binds to orbital of a second water molecule 
    Positively charged  Hydronium ion (H3O+)
     Water molecule that lost a proton  Negatively charged  Hydroxide
    ion (OH-)

    H2O + H2O H3O+ + OH-


    H2O H+ + OH-
    Water as a Solvent

    • Many substances dissolve in water (Eg. Dietary sugar)


     Molecules separate from each other and surrounded by water
    molecules
    • Solution  The mixture formed when a substance dissolved in
    a liquid
    • Solute  The dissolved substance
    • Solvent  The liquid that dissolve the substance (Eg. Water)
    Acids and Bases

    • Acid  A substance that, when put into


    water, gives up H+
     Donates H+ to a solution
    • Base  A substance that, when put into
    water, gives up ions (OH-) that will
    combine with H+
     Takes H+ out of solution
    • At equilibrium (pure water)  [H+] = [OH-]
    Acids and Bases

    Solution [H+] ? [OH-]


    Neutral [H+] = [OH-]
    Acidic [H+] > [OH-]
    Basic [H+] < [OH-]
    The pH Scale

    • pH scale
     Ranges from 0 – 14
     Neutral pH = 7
     Acidic pH < 7
     Basic pH > 7
    • pH of most biological
    systems 6 – 8
    (except stomach)
     Maintained by a buffer
    system
     Resists change in pH
    Cells are Formed from Carbon Compounds

    • Besides water, cells are the


    major building blocks of
    organisms
    • Primary cellular
    composition  Carbon
    • Carbon has the ability to
    form large molecules
    • Molecules containing
    carbon  Organic
    molecules
    Carbon

    • Carbon is unusual
     Much more versatile than other elements
     Atomic number of 6 and has 4 valence electrons
     Can form as many as 4 bonds with other atoms,
    including other C atoms (tetravalent arrangement)
     More or less long chains of carbon atoms can form this way
     C atoms can be joined into rings and other shapes
     C – C combinations introduce
    tremendous complexity and
    variety into molecular structure
    Carbon Skeleton

    • Organic molecules that include a long chain of


    carbons covalently bonded together
    • May vary in
     Length
     Shape
     Number and location of double bonds
    • Hydrocarbons  contain only carbon and hydrogen
    elements
    Carbon Skeleton
    Functional Groups

    • A number of small group of atoms frequently


    bound to the carbon skeleton
    • Characteristics
     Have specific chemical and physical properties
     Regions of organic molecules that are commonly
    chemically reactive
     Number and arrangement determine the unique
    chemical properties of organic molecules
    Functional Groups

    • Types
    1. Hydroxyl group (-OH)  Alcohols
    2. Carbonyl group (CO-)  Aldehyde or ketone
    3. Carboxyl group (-COOH)  Carboxylic acids
    4. Amino group (-NH2)  Amines
    5. Sulfhydryl group (-SH)  Thiols
    6. Phosphate group (PO43-)  For cellular energy storage
    7. Methyl group (-CH3)  For tertiary structure of
    macromolecules
    Macromolecules

    • Also known as polymers  Large molecules consisting of


    many identical or similar subunits/monomers connected
    together (40 – 50 various monomers)
    • Monomer  A molecule that is able to bond in long chains
    • Polymerization
     The process that forms macromolecules
     Condensation reaction that links 2 or more small molecules
    through formation of covalent bonds, removing 1 water molecule
    per covalent bond formed
    • Hydrolysis  The reaction that breaks covalent bonds
    between monomers in a macromolecule by addition of
    water molecules
    Categories of Organic Compounds

    • Four classes of macromolecules


    that form the basis of living
    matters
    1. Carbohydrates
    2. Lipids
    3. Proteins
    4. Nucleic acids

    You might also like