Chemical level of organization Flashcards
Chemical elements of the human body
Major elements: (96.1%) (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen) + phosphorus and calcium = 99%
Lesser elements: (3.9%) : phosphorus, calcium
Trace elements: (less than 0.2 %) : zinc, cobalt
Metabolism
sum of all chemical reactions in the body
Catabolism
-Start with large, then break bonds to get smaller molecules
-also called decomposition (hydrolysis)
-when you break bonds you free up energy
-catabolism drives anabolism
Anabolism
-start with small, then form bond to make bigger molecules
-synthesis (dehydration synthesis)
-this reaction requires energy that you can obtain from catabolic reactions
Inorganic
not living
-typically lacks carbon hydrogen bonds
Water and its functions in the body
Amount in humans: varies depending on location
Functions 1. Act as a lubricant
2. Serve as a transportation medium
3. Help maintain constant temperature
4. Participates in chemical reactions
Water and temperature in the body
-Water has a stable temperature, so it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature making it useful in the body
Water as a transporting medium
- water carries things in solution
-pure distilled water is never found in the body, always mixed with something
-can act as a solvent or a suspension
Ex: blood, water based hormones, and lymph are watery based fluids that act as transporting mediums
Solution
mixture that is evenly distributed, you cannot differentiate the two
Solute
all things dissolved in their
solvent
water (thing doing the dissolving)
Water as a suspending medium
Ex: RBCs too large to be dissolved in blood, but moved by the force of blood moving
Suspension
acts as a transporting medium, what is in a suspension does not dissolve
Hydrolysis
-chemical reaction where you break bonds using water
-allows catabolic reactions to occur
-releases energy
Dehydration Synthesis
- Take away water from a chemical reaction to form a bond
-allows anabolism to happen
-this reaction is dependent upon synthesis (catabolism)
Acid
-when you put it in water it dissociates into hydrogen ions (H+)
-More stronger acid = more H+
- less H+ = still acid but not as strong
Where is acid found in the body or a product of?
-Acid is found in the stomach as HCl
-mucus protects the stomach from being affected
-cannot digest proteins without acid in the stomach
-a product of acid is heartburn. When you take anti-acids you make the environment in your stomach more basic. Long term this can cause problems with digestion
Base
-when dissolved in water is dissociates into hydroxyl ions (OH-)
-Blood is somewhat basic with a PH of 7.4, you will die if it becomes acidic
Name one part of the body or product that is basic
-pancreas uses OH-
-small intestine is basic
pH; the pH scale
measure of how many hydrogen ions in solution
above 7 = basic
7 = neutral
below 7 = acidic
Buffers
-they maintain pH in the body by altering H+ or OH- ions
- Ex: kidneys flush out hydrogen ions and you urinate them out
Organic molecules
-living things
-contains carbon and hydrogen bonds or carbon-carbon
-fundamental building blocks
Carbohydrates
- carbon attached to water
Function: body fuel
Ratio: 1:2:1 (1 carbon : 2x hydrogen : 1 oxygen)
-group of molecules that contain sugar and starches
Three things to identify carbohydrates
-you need to see hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon
Monosaccharides
-simplest form of a carbohydrate
-are the building blocks, ready to be digested in this form
-logs for the fire there to be burned
-larger carbohydrate less soluble in water
ex: glucose, galactose, and fructose
Monosaccharides
-simplest form of a carbohydrate
-are the building blocks, ready to be digested in this form
-logs for the fire there to be burned
-larger carbohydrate less soluble in water
ex: glucose, galactose, and fructose
Disaccharides
-double sugar
-2 monosaccharides joined together, has to be broken down by the body before it can be used
Formed: dehydration synthesis
Broken: Hydrolysis
Ex: maltose, lactose, sucrose
Which carbohydrates (sugar) come together to from what?
Glucose + Glucose = maltose
Glucose + Galactose = lactose
Glucose + fructose = sucrose
Polysaccharides
-hundreds of monosaccharides
-starch is one of the forms that come from plants
-glycogen is one of the forms that come from animals and stored in liver cells and skeletal muscles
-we only take what we need, and that depends on our lifestyle the rest can get stored as fat and the leftover is stored as another polysaccharide
Cellulose
-type of polysaccharide that cannot be broken down by the body and used as fiber
Lipids
Neutral fat
Functions: used for insulation and fuel . Protection of organs and cell membranes, Makes sex hormones
- not easy to break down it goes into a fatty acid and glycerol
-babies need full fat milk to develop the myelin sheath (basis of MS disease)
-diabetics cannot use glucose, so they break down fat, but the breakdown produces acid which can affect pH of blood
-the fatty acid group may vary but it will always contain 1 glycerol
Fatty Acid
-hydrocarbon chain and a terminal carboxyl group (C double bonded to O and bonded to OH)
Triglycerides
-major form of stored energy in the body
-fat deposits protect and insulate body organs
-composed of glycerol and fatty acid chains
- almost all the fat we eat is this
Triglycerides
-major form of stored energy in the body
-fat deposits protect and insulate body organs
-composed of glycerol and fatty acid chains
-3 fatty acids attached to a glycerol
Saturated fats
-a fatty acid where there is only single bonds in between
-comes from an animal
-can clog arteries
Unsaturated Fats
-Fatty acid where there are double bonds between
-these will come from plants probably
-in liquid form most time (ex: olive oil)
How is a molecule of fat broken down and formed?
Formed: dehydration synthesis
Broken: hydrolysis
Diglyceride and monoglyceride
-2 fatty acids attached to a glycerol, and one fatty acid attached to a glycerol respectfully
-used as additives in food
Functions of Proteins
- Building material
- Transport
- Hormones
- Antibodies
- Enzymes
ex: actin and myosin are proteins used to build muscle
ex: hemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen
Enzymes
-almost all proteins are this
-they have specific shapes
-used for speeding up a chemical reaction
- every single chemical reaction in the body has its own enzymes
-end in ASE
Amino Acid
-building blocks of proteins
-we have 20 different amino acids
-contain an amine group, central carbon, carboxyl group, and a R group
-need at least 50 of them to make a protein
-EX: sickle cell disease, one amino acid is changed and the red blood cell is deformed
Peptide Bond
-bond joining the amine groups of one amino acid to the carboxyl group with the loss of a water molecule
Dipeptide
-two united amino acids
polypeptide
-ten or more amino acids united
Nucleic acid
Function: carry genetic information, which is read in cells to make RNA and proteins
Description: composed of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and hydrogen, and are the largest molecules in the body. Two classes of molecules deoxynucleic acid and ribonucleic acid
Nucleotide
-building blocks of nucleic acid (RNA/DNA)
-consist of a sugar molecule (ribose) or (deoxyribose) attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen containing base
-Bases used in DNA are Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine
- A goes with T, and C goes with G
-this chemistry is the same in all living things
DNA structure
-nucleotide match by complementary bases
-the rungs of DNA consists of base pairs joined by hydrogen bonds
-the backbone of DNA ladder consist of alternating sugar and phosphate units
Cell
-smallest unit of life
Principle parts of a cell
1. nucleus
2. cytoplasm
3. plasma membrane
Plasma (cell) membrane
-the outer boundary of the cell, which acts as a selectively permeable membrane
Functions of plasma (cell) membrane
- Transport channels (cell doors)
- receptor sites
- cell identity markers
- enzymes
- cell to cell contact
Permeable
can pass through
Impermeable
cannot pass through
semipermeable (selectively permeable)
-what things are (some can pass through others cannot)
Factors that affect permeability
- size
- solubility
- charge
- presence of “carriers” protein doors
Passive Transport
-does not require energy (ATP)
-diffusion and facilitated diffusion are examples of this
Diffusion
-move from an area of high concentration (of water) to an area of low concentration (of water) till equilibrium
-moves on its own kinetic energy
-EX: oxygen diffuses into blood, but you don’t take it all through there
Facilitated Diffusion
-diffusion but needs a doorway (for permeability)
Osmosis
-passive process (no ATP)
-diffusion of water from high concentrated area to low concentrated
-blood pressure is an example of osmosis
Hypertonic
-too much salt in the solution, water pours out of cell
-cell shrinks
hypotonic
-to little salt in the solution, so the cell swells up as water rushes in
ex: distilled water
isotonic
-no net movement of water from cell or solution, no osmosis
Active transport
-requires ATP (energy) to move materials across the membrane, requires ATP and protein carrier
-does not go to equilibrium
Filtration
physical separating process that separates solid matter and a fluid using a filter medium
dialysis
-procedure to remove waste products and excess fluids from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly
Phagocytosis
cell eating (white blood cells)
-Needs ATP
Pinocytosis
cell is drinking water
Cytoplasm (cytosol)
-80% water made of, is the cellular material surrounding the nucleus and enclosed by the plasma membrane
-the site of protein synthesis, first stage of cellular respiration, mitosis, meiosis
Nucleus
-usually in the center of the cell
-storehouse of the genetic information, directs cellular activities, including division
Nuclear Membrane
-the double membrane barrier of a cell nucleus
-semipermeable
Nucleoplasm
-jelly like fluid enclosed by the nuclear envelope, equivalent to cytoplasm
-contains salts nutrients and other solutions
Nucleolus
-spherical structure found in the cell’s nucleus primary function is to produce and assemble ribosomes
Chromatin
-dispersed in the nucleus
-contains genetic material (DNA) coils during mitosis
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
-in the cytoplasm
-transports proteins (made on its ribosomes) to other sites in the cell, synthesizes membrane lipids
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
-in the cytoplasm
-site of steroid synthesis and lipid metabolism
Ribosome
-attached to the membrane systems or in the cytoplasm
-synthesizes proteins
Golgi Body
-near the nucleus (in the cytoplasm)
-packages proteins to be incorporated into the plasma membrane or packaged into lysosomes to be exported from the cell
Mitochondria
-scattered throughout the cell
-control release of energy from foods, from ATP
Lysosomes
-scattered in the cytoplasm
-digest ingested materials and worn out organelles (contain powerful digestive enzymes)
microtubules and microfilaments
Microtubules: one of the three types of cytoskeletal elements, hollow tube made of tubulin
Microfilaments: thin strands of protein actin
