Exam 1 Flashcards
What does valence refer to?
The number of unpaired electrons in the outer orbital shell of an atom or element.
What is the valence of Hydrogen?
1
What is the valence of Oxygen?
2
What is the valence of Nitrogen?
3
What is the valence of Carbon?
4
What is a covalent bond?
It is a bond that occurs between two nonmetals that have similar electronegativities. In other words, neither atom is strong enough to attract electrons from the other. Unpaired electrons are shared.
What can O2 form?
Two covalent bonds since each Oxygen has two unpaired electrons.
Why is water important?
Because it is the universal biological solvent. Many cell processes occur in water.
What does electronegativity determine?
Determines the distribution of electrons within a covalent bond.
What is the EN of Oxygen?
3.5
What is the EN of Nitrogen?
3.0
What is the EN of Sulfur and Carbon?
2.5
What is the EN of Phosphorus and Hydrogen?
2.1
Electronegativity is important for the three following reasons:
- Determines position of electrons within covalent bonds
- Determines what bond consists of
- Determines what the consequences of that covalent bond are for cellular energetics
What is electronegativity?
Electronegativity is the measure of an atom’s ability to attract shared electrons to itself.
What is the trend of electronegativity on the periodic table?
Increases as you move up and to the right. This makes sense because non-metals have high electronegativities
What is a nonpolar covalent bond?
A bond where the atoms have similar (or equal) electronegativities. This means that electrons are distributed equally between these atoms. This can typically mean less than or equal to 0.4 difference.
Is a C-H bond polar or nonpolar?
Nonpolar because the electronegativity of Carbon is 2.5 and the electronegativity of Hydrogen is 2.1.
What is a polar covalent bond?
A bond where the atoms have DISSIMILAR electronegativities, meaning that the electrons are distributed unequally between atoms.
In a polar covalent bond, which atom will electrons be attracted to?
Electrons are attracted more to the atom with stronger electronegativity because it has a stronger pull.
What are a few examples of polar covalent bonds?
H-O, C-O, H-N
What is an important type of bond that involves polar covalent bonding?
Hydrogen bond formation
What do the charges on atoms in polar covalent bonds allow for?
Allows for electrostatic type bonding. For example, in a molecule of H2O, the Oxygen has a slightly negative charge and the Hydrogens have slightly positive charges due to the difference in electronegativities. Due to these charges, electrostatic type bonding is possible.
How do hydrogen bonds form?
Form between molecules that have H-O, H-N, or H-F bonds.
Where do we see hydrogen bonds in the body?
Hydrogen bonds can also form in protein molecules.
What are hydrogen bonds important for in protein molecules?
They are important for the shape. The shape of a protein molecule determines its function.
How does the potential energy in a nonpolar covalent bond compared to the potential energy in a polar covalent bond?
Electrons in covalent bonds between atoms of equal electronegativity have a GREATER potential energy than those between atoms with unequal electronegativity.
PE in nonpolar CB > PE in polar CB
What do changes in the position of electrons in covalent bonds effect?
Changes in the position of electrons in covalent bonds constitute changes in energy status. For example, metabolism.
What happens energetically when you break a nonpolar bond and for a polar bond?
Release energy
How does the potential energy between a C-H bond compare to that of an O-H or C-O bond?
Covalent C-H bonds have greater potential energy that O-H or C-O bonds because the electrons are equidistant between C and H.
What happens during ionic bonding?
Complete electron transfer occurs and the electron is completely donated.
What is an example of ionic bonding?
NaCl. In this molecule, Na loses an electron and become a cation (positive charge) and Cl gains an electron and becomes an anion (negative charge). Note that NaCl is an important biological molecule
Are ionic bonds strong?
YES
How can crystalline NaCl be dissolved?
When crystalline NaCl is placed in a beaker of water, the small electrostatic charges between O and H attract and setup with ions in NaCl. The positive Hydrogen atoms are attracted to the negative Chlorine atoms, and the negative Oxygen atoms are attracted to the positive Sodium atoms.
How can weak hydrogen bonds break strong ionic bonds?
Water forms hydration shells surrounding ions. The aggregated electrostatic forces within shells are strong enough to dissolve the molecule.
What is a hydration shell?
These shells are a large number of water molecules that are formed by electrostatic forces between the H and O atoms of water and the ‘dissolved’ ion.
What happens when hydration shells extend away from an ion?
They become less organized
What are hydration shells critical for in cells and tissues?
Critical for dissolving soluble proteins in the aqueous environments.
Can insoluble proteins be dissolved via hydration shells?
No, because they have a surface with a charge distribution that doesn’t allow water molecules to be attracted to them