lecture 2 - basic biochemistry Flashcards
what is an atom?
building blocks of all matter
what is an element?
a pure substance which cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by a chemical reaction, it contains only one type of atom
what are 96% of the elements in the body?
oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen
what does oxygen do in the body?
respiration and production of energy
what does carbon do in the body?
makes up all organic molecules produced in respiration
what does hydrogen do in the body?
energy production
what does nitrogen do in the body?
makes new proteins
what is the make up of an atom?
protons, neutrons and electrons
what charge does a proton have?
positive
what charge does an electron have?
negative
what charge does a neutron have?
no charge but adds mass to the atom, by changing the num of neutrons you make diff elements
how are electrons organised?
into shells and sub shells
when is an atom most stable?
when the outer shell is completely full of electrons
what is an ion?
an atom becomes an ion when its charge has been altered by losing or gaining an electron - ionization
what is an anion?
negative ion which gains an electron
what is a cation?
positive ion which loses an electron
if an atom loses or gains an electron what does it become?
an ion
what does an ionic bond depend on?
electronegativity - the attraction of an atom for electrons
how does the electronegativity of atoms vary?
increases from bottom to top and from left to right in the periodic table
what does ionic bonding involve?
giving and receiving – happens when the diff in the electronegativity num is higher
e.g. sodium chloride - sodium loses and electron and gives it to chlorine so that they can both become most stable
what is covalent bonding?
sharing electrons e.g. CH4
what is a polar molecule?
one part of the molecule is more charged than the other, they are hydrophilic - dissolve well
what is a nonpolar molecule?
charges of each molecule are equal, difficult to dissolve in water
what is the strongest bond?
covalent
what is a compound?
a molecule composed of atoms from two or more different elements.
what does an organic compound contain?
carbon
what does an inorganic compound contain?
no carbons
what is a chemical reaction?
the breaking (producing energy) or making (storing energy) of these bonds
what is reduction?
gaining of electrons
what is oxidation?
the loss of electrons
how can we remember oxidation and reduction?
OIL RIG
what is cytosol?
fluid all the little things forms the cytoplasm
what is the mitochondria?
Generates more ATP than any other part of the cell in the matrix, when we train triggers the body to produce more mitchondria which are bigger so that we can run faster
what is the cell membrane?
Regulates what goes in and out of the cell by the use of transporters or protein channels
Made up out of a lipid bilayer – split in 2 – 2 lipid molecules, one pointed upwards other downwards – prevents water from leaking in or out
