Biochemistry Atoms are the building blocks or all matter Atoms consist of subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and

rticles: protons, neutrons, and electrons An atom in its elemental state always has a neutral charge because the number of protons equals the number of electrons. The Electron Configuration of an element is important because it determines how a particular atom will react with atoms of other elements If the atoms are in the lowest possible energy level, they are said to be in ground state If the atom absorbs energy, it is moved to a higher energy state and is said to be excited EXAMPLE: When a chlorophyll molecule in a photosynthetic plant absorbs light energy, the molecule becomes excited, and the electrons get boosted to a higher energy state Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in the number of neutrons in the nucleus of the atom Isotopes have the same number of protons and electrons as other isotopes of the same element The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom, and serves as the identification of the element Chemically, isotopes are identical because they have the same number of electrons in the same electron configuration Some isotopes are radioactive, such as C-14. Radioactive isotopes decay at a rate known as the half-life. The half-life enables us to measure the age of fossils or to estimate the age of the earth Radioisotopes, such as radioactive iodine (I-131) can be used to treat certain diseases such as that of the thyroid gland Radioactive carbon can also be used as tracers. They can be incorporated into a molecule and used to trace the path of carbon dioxide in a metabolic pathway A bond is formed when two atomic nuclei attract Energy is released when a bond is formed and, energy must be supplied to break a bond. Atoms bond to reach a stable valance electron configuration They are stable when they have 8 electrons in their outer shell There are 2 main types of bonds: ionic and covalent Ionic bonds form as a result of the transfer of electrons from one atom to another If an atom gains an electron, it becomes a negatively charged particle known as an anion. If an atom loses an electron, it becomes a positively charged particle known as a cation Ionic bonds form between a metal and a non-metal Covalent bond form as a result of the sharing of electrons between two atoms The resulting structure of a covalent bond is called a molecule A single covalent bond forms when two atoms share a single pair of electrons A double covalent bond form when two atoms share two pairs of electrons A triple covalent bond forms when two atoms share three pairs of electrons A triple bond is the strongest and the shortest

A single bond is the weakest and the longest If electrons are shared equally between two identical atoms and is symmetric, the bond is a nonpolar bond If electrons are not shared equally between two identical atoms and is not symmetric, the bond is a polar bond H-H is nonpolar C-H is polar CH4 is nonpolar due to the symmetry Weak attractions exist between nonpolar molecules Strong attractions exist between polar molecules These attractions are responsible for the physical characteristics of the substance, such as solubility LIKE DISSOLVES LIKE Oils and fats, which are nonpolar, only dissolve in nonpolar substances HCL, a polar molecule, will only dissolve in polar substances like water Hydrophobic means repelled by water Hydrophilic means attracted to water Substances that are polar will dissolve in water and substances that are nonpolar will not dissolve in water Lipids are nonpolar and hydrophobic and do not dissolve in water Since the plasma membrane is a phospholipid bilayer, only nonpolar substances can dissolve through the plasma membrane Large polar molecules must travel across a membrane in a special hydrophilic channel Because the oxygen atom in a water molecule exerts a greater pull on the shared electrons than do the hydrogen atoms, one side of the water molecule has a negative charge and the other has a positive charge The molecule is therefore asymmetrical and highly polar In water, the oxygen is attracted to hydrogen via the hydrogen bond Hydrogen bonds occur when hydrogen bonds to a highly electronegative atom such as FON Water has a high specific heat The specific heat of a substance is the amount needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius Because water has a high specific heat, it is able to resist changes in temperature and provide a stable environmental temperature for the organisms that live in bodies of water Because large bodies of water exhibit relatively little temperature change, they moderate the climate of nearby land. High specific heat is also responsible for the fact that the marine biome has the most stable temperatures of any biome Water has a high heat of vaporization

Evaporating water requires a relatively great amount of energy, so evaporation of sweat cools the surface of the body Water is a universal solvent Because water is a highly polar molecule, it dissolves all polar and ionic substances Water exhibits strong cohesion tension. Water moves up a tall tree from the roots to the leaves without the expenditure of energy by what is referred to a transpirational-pull cohesion tension. As one molecule of water is lost from the leaf by transpiration, another molecule is drawn into the roots Capillary action results from the combined forces of cohesion and adhesion Surface tension allows insects to walk on water without breaking the surface Ice floats because it is less dense than water. In a deep body of water, floating ice insulates the liquid water below it, allowing fish and other organisms to live below it during the winter. In the spring, the ice melts, and the ice becomes denser and sinks to the bottom of the lake, causing water to circulate throughout the lake. Oxygen from the surface is returned to the depths and nutrients released by the activities of bottom dwelling bacteria during the winter are carried to the upper layers of the lake. This cycling of nutrients in the lake is known as spring overturn and is important to the life cycle of a lake. pH is the measure of the acidity and alkalinity of a solution It is also a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution pH less than 7 is acidic pH more than 7 is basic pH of 7 is neutral The value of pH is the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration, measured in moles per liter A solution of pH 3 is 10 times more acidic than a solution of a pH of 4 The internal pH of most living cells is close to 7 Even a slight change can be harm Buffers are biological systems that regulate pH Buffers resist changes in pH A buffers work by absorbing excess hydrogen ions or donating hydrogen ions when there are too few The most important buffer in the human blood is the bicarbonate ion

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