Topic Review on "Chemical Basis of Life": Atomic and Molecular structure An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.

Protons are positively ch arged and they denote the atomic number. Neutrons have no electrical charge. Pro tons and neutrons are present in the nucleus. Electrons are negatively charged a nd present in the orbits surrounding the nucleus. Isotopes have same number of p rotons but different number of neutrons. Loss or gain of electrons is seen in io ns. Sharing electrons form covalent bond in molecules. Hydrogen bond is a type of intermolecular attraction among polar molecules such as water. Types of organic molecules Organic molecules are those derived from living organisms and they all contain c arbon backbones. There are 7 major classes of organic molecules categorized by their functional groups: alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, amines, organic phosphates and thiols. Four major groups of macromolecules in cells ar e polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids. Each of these macromolec ules is built up on smaller molecules. Acids, basis and buffers Acids are electrolytes that release hydrogen ions in water. Bases are electroly tes that release hydroxyl ions in water that can combine with hydrogen ions to f orm water. pH represents the concentration of hydrogen ions [H+] in solution (p H = -log [H+]). Buffer solutions are solutions which resist change in pH upon a ddition of small amounts of acid or base. Buffers provide a relatively stable en vironment for biochemical reactions to take place. Biochemical reactions Like all other chemical reactions, biochemical reactions also favor DG negative reactions. Some reactions are DG positive and they can be coupled to other DG n egative reactions in order to make the total DG of the coupled reaction to be ne gative. Nearly all biochemical reactions are catalyzed by enzymes, which decrea se the activation energy but do not change the DG value of the reaction. Six ma jor types of biochemical reactions are: oxidation-reduction, group transferring, hydrolysis, elimination or addition, isomerization and ligation of various grou ps. These reactions are catalyzed by corresponding enzymes: oxidoreductase, tra nsferase, hydrolase, lyase, isomerase and ligase. Rapid Study Kit for "Chemical Basis of Life": Flash Movie Flash Game Flash Card Core Concept Tutorial Problem Solving Drill "Chemical Basis of Life" Tutorial Summary : An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. Isotopes have same number of protons but different number of neutrons. Loss or gain of electrons forms io n bonds, sharing electrons forms covalent bonds. Intermolecular attractions amo ng polar molecules bridged by hydrogen are termed hydrogen bonds, which are usua lly weaker than ion or covalent bonds. Biochemical reactions are usually involv es breaking old covalent bonds and forming new ones. Nearly all biochemical rea ctions are catalyzed by enzymes and occur in a buffer system which provides rela tive stable condition for enzymes to be active. Four major classes of macromole cules in biochemistry are polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids.

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