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BIOLOGY 1210 > The Chemistry of Life > Flashcards

The Chemistry of Life Flashcards

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1
Q

what is an element?

A

a substance that cannot be broken down to other substances by chemical reactions

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2
Q

what 4 elements make up 96% of living matter?

A

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen

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3
Q

what is an atom?

A

the basic unit of a chemical element

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4
Q

what is a subatomic particle?

A

a particle smaller than an atom

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5
Q

what are the subatomic particles of an atom? what kind of charge do they have? what do they form/where are they found?

A 
Protons
-positive charge
-form part of atomic nucleus in center of atom
Neutrons
-no electrical charge
-form part of the atomic nucleus in center of atom
Electrons
-negative charge
-form cloud around nucleus
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6
Q

what is an electron shell? what determines how far a shell is located from the nucleus? can atoms have more than one shell? electrons in the outermost shell have more … than electrons in the innermost shell.

A

an electron shell is the orbit of a grouping of electrons around an atoms nucleus

  • distance from nucleus is determined by the amount of energy the electron possesses
  • atoms can have more than one shell as long as energy levels differ between electrons
  • energy
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7
Q

how many electrons can the innermost shell hold? how many can the 2nd and 3rd shells hold?

A

2 electrons = one pair

8 electrons = four pairs

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8
Q

what determines the chemical properties of an atom?

A

-how many electrons are in its outermost shell

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9
Q

what are electrons in the outer most shell are called?

A

valence electrons

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10
Q

of the 5 main elements we talk about which ones have a high electronegativity? which ones have a low electronegativity?

A 
high:
-oxygen
-nitrogen
low:
-carbon
-hydrogen
-phosphorus
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11
Q

when/how will atoms interact with other atoms?

A
  • atoms will interact with other atoms when they have unpaired electrons in their outermost shell
  • they interact by sharing or transferring electrons
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12
Q

what are chemical bonds?

A

are the interactions that atoms have by sharing/transferring electrons which usually result in atoms staying close together, held by attractions

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13
Q

what are the 4 types of chemical bonds/interactions?

A
  1. covalent bonds
  2. hydrogen bond
  3. ionic bond
  4. hydrophobic interaction
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14
Q

covalent bond:

  1. how/when does it form?
  2. is it strong or weak? how permanent is it?
  3. how is represented in a drawing?
A
  1. Formed when two atoms share pairs of electrons
  2. Strong, relatively permanent bonds; requires large amount of energy to break
  3. represented as a solid line between atoms
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15
Q

what is a molecule?

A

two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds

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16
Q

why do atoms share pairs of electrons?

A

to fill their outer orbital and become more stable

17
Q

are covalent bonds polar or non-polar? what determines this?

A
  • covalent bonds can be either polar or non-polar

- Depends on the electronegativity of the two atoms sharing the pair of electrons

18
Q

what are non-polar covalent bonds?

A

-they are covalent bonds that form between atoms with same electronegativities, and therefore the atoms share electrons equally

19
Q

what are polar covalent bonds? what kind of charge does this result in?

A

-they are covalent bonds that form between atoms with different electronegativities, and therefore the atoms share electrons unequally.
-Unequal sharing of the electrons results in atoms
with partial positive and partial negative charges (in the same molecule)

20
Q

what is electronegativity? what element has the strongest electronegativity?

A

is a measure of how strongly specific atoms attract the electrons of a covalent bond to themselves
-oxygen (and the nitrogen)

21
Q

the more electronegative an atom is the more it … the shared electron …

A

pulls the shared electrons towards itself

22
Q

hydrogen bond:

  1. how/when does it form?
  2. is it strong or weak?
  3. how is represented in a drawing?
A
  1. Forms when a hydrogen atom, involved in a polar covalent bond, is attracted to a strongly electronegative atom such as oxygen or nitrogen
  2. weak and non-permanent
  3. dashed line
23
Q

what are polar and non-polar regions of a molecule? what kind of molecules do they occur in/why?

A

Polar regions
-contain atoms held together by polar covalent bonds
Nonpolar regions
-contain atoms held together by non-polar covalent bonds
-occur in molecules that are very large because they have many different kinds of bonds happening in them

24
Q

Ionic bond:

  1. how/when does it form?
  2. is it strong or weak? how permanent is it?
  3. how is represented in a drawing?
A
  1. formed when atoms strip electrons from their bonding
    partners, which causes the atom to become a charged ion, and the attraction between ions of opposite charge = ionic bond
  2. not very strong/permanent; can be disrupted by water
  3. dashed lines
25
Q

what is an ion?

A

an ion is a charged atom that has either lost or gained electron(s)
-happens when atoms have unpaired electrons
-eg. Na (sodium) atom has 1 electron in outer orbit
Cl (chlorine) atom lacks 1 electron in outer orbit
Cl takes electron from Na –> creates Na+ (sodium ion) and Cl- (chlorine ion) –> form an ionic bond with each other and become NaCl (sodium chloride)

26
Q

what is a hydrophilic substance? what will it do in water? what kinds of atoms/molecules are hydrophilic?

A
  • a substance that has an affinity for water
  • will dissolve in water and form hydrogen bonds with water
  • ions, ionic compounds, polar molecules, or polar regions of molecules
27
Q

what is a hydrophobic substance? what will it do in water? what kinds of atoms/molecules are hydrophobic?

A
  • a substance that does not have an affinity for water; repels water; held together by sharing of electrons
  • it will not dissolve in water or form bonds with water
  • non-polar molecules, or regions of molecules
28
Q

hydrophobic interaction:

  1. how/when does it form?
  2. is it strong or weak? how permanent is it?
  3. how is represented in a drawing?
A
  1. forms between non-polar molecules or non-polar regions of larger molecules; attraction of hydrophobic substances to one another in water, without bonding with water
  2. Weak interactions that are non-permanent
  3. dashed lines
29
Q

what is a functional group? what does it do/give to organic molecules? how do they attach?

A
  • a biologically important chemical group
  • functional groups give organic molecules distinctive properties and are the components that are most commonly involved in chemical reactions
  • Attach to the carbon skeleton
30
Q

what are the seven functional groups that are most important in the chemistry of life?

A
  1. Hydroxyl group
  2. Carbonyl group
  3. Carboxyl group
  4. Amino group
  5. Phosphate group
  6. Methyl group
  7. Sulfhydryl group
31
Q

hydroxyl:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A
  1. hydrogen atom bonded to an oxygen atom, which is bonded to the carbon skeleton of the organic molecule
  2. polar
  3. can form hydrogen bonds
  4. hydrophilic
  5. /
32
Q

Carbonyl:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A 
1. oxygen atom double-bonded to a carbon
atom
2. polar
3. can form hydrogen bonds
4. hydrophilic
5. source of H+ = acid
33
Q

Amino:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A 
1. nitrogen atom bonded to 2 hydrogen atoms and
the carbon skeleton
2. polar
3. can form hydrogen bonds
4. hydrophilic
5. can pick up H+ = base
34
Q

Carboxyl:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A
  1. oxygen atom double-bonded to a carbon atom that bonded to a hydroxyl group
  2. polar
  3. can form hydrogen bonds
  4. hydrophilic
  5. source of H+ = acid
35
Q

Phosphate:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A
  1. phosphorus atom bonded to 4 oxygen atoms, one oxygen is bonded to the carbon skeleton
  2. polar
  3. can form hydrogen bonds
  4. hydrophilic
36
Q

Methyl:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. is it polar or non polar?
  3. can it form hydrogen bonds?
  4. is it hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
  5. is it an acid or a base?
A
  1. carbon atom bonded to 3 hydrogen atoms, which is bonded to the carbon skeleton of the organic molecule
  2. nonpolar
  3. /
  4. hydrophobic
  5. /
37
Q

Sulfhydryl:

  1. what is the structure?
  2. what are its functional properties?
A
  1. hydrogen atom bonded to a sulfur atom, which
    is bonded to the carbon skeleton of the organic
    molecule
  2. two sulfhydryl groups can react forming a covalent bond
    -covalent bond helps to stabilize protein structure
38
Q

what is the difference between single/double/triple covalent bonds?

A
  • Single Bond: sharing of one pair of valence electrons
  • Double Bond: sharing of two pairs of valence electrons
  • Triple Bond: sharing of three pairs of valence electrons

BIOLOGY 1210 (26 decks)

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