Chemistry Of Life Flashcards
Building blocks of matter?
Atoms
Matter
Anything that has mass and takes up space
Sub-atomic particles
- Sub-atomic particles build atoms; protons, neutrons, electrons
Atomic number
Stands for the number of protons and neutrons in an atom
Atomic mass
Just the mass of an atom measured in amu (atomic mass units)
Isotopes? How are they useful?
One of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers. They are variants of an element with slightly different properties. They can help with archeology and anthropology for carbon dating…
What part of the atom determines it’s behavior?
Electrons
Electron orbitals?
“Shells” principles of the octet rule, electro negativity.
Two types of chemical bonding
Ionic (taking) and covalent (sharing)
Redox reactions?
The basis for energy yielding cellular reactions
Water is life…
75% of earth, 2/3 of living organisms
Chemistry of water is important because…?
Polarity, hydrogen bonding..
Water surface tension?
Cause by hydrogen bonding, also known as cohesion
Waters specific heat?
Waters high specific heat enables it to regulate the temperatures of organisms and earth
Water expanding?
Water expanding as it cools keeps majority of water on earth in liquid form.
Water’s polarity?
Makes it into an extremely important solvent
-water organizes non polar molecules (hydrophobic exclusion)
Dissociation of water?
Produces hydrogen ions (H+ protons) and hydroxide ions (OH-)
pH determines?
Can be used to determine the H+ concentration of a solution
pH7?
Neutral solution (equal H+ and OH-) most cells require pH7
Buffers?
Buffers can regulate pH
Organic
All know life on earth is carbon based
4 carbon based macromolecules that build life
Proteins, nuclei acids, lipids, and carbohydrates
Majority of living things are composed of…
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
Carbon chemistry
Illustrates why carbon is ideal to build macromolecules (tetra valence electrons)