Chemistry of life

All matter is built up of simple units called atoms. Although the word atom means something that cannot be cut (a = without, tom = cut), these elementary particles are actually made up of many smaller parts, which are themselves further divisible. The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons. The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus by the electromagnetic force. Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to each other, forming a molecule. A positively or negatively charged atom is known as an ion. Cations are particles with a positive charge, while anions are particles with negative charge. Cations are formed when an atom loses electrons, while anions are formed when an atom gains electrons. For example, Ca2+ would be a cation and O2would be an anion.

 Atoms interact with one another to form chemical communities. The tightly knit atoms making up the communal molecules are held together by chemical bonding. A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction.

Covalent bond
A covalent bond is a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding. It is common in organic compounds. They are strong bonds compared to ionic bonds. Example: Formation of Methane. Carbon is a Group 4 atom while hydrogen is a Group 1 electron. Carbon has 4 valence electrons and it needs 4 more electrons to achieve a stable electronic configuration so it shares 4 electrons. Hydrogen needs 1 more electron to achieve a stable electronic configuration so it shares 1 electron.

Co-ordinate bond
A covalent chemical bond between two atoms that is produced when one atom shares a pair of electrons with another atom lacking such a pair. Also called coordinate covalent bond. The atom with less affinity for the electron is called the donor and it shows a positive charge. The atom with greater affinity for the electron is called an acceptor and it carries a negative charge. Example: Formation of Ammonium chloride. If these colourless gases are allowed to mix, a thick white smoke of solid ammonium chloride is formed. Ammonium ions, NH4+, are formed by the transfer of a hydrogen ion from the hydrogen chloride to the lone pair of electrons on the ammonia molecule.

Non Covalent bond

A noncovalent bond is a type of chemical bond, typically between macromolecules, that does not involve the sharing of pairs of electrons, but rather involves more dispersed variations of electromagnetic interactions. Noncovalent bonds are critical in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of large molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. They are important in the stabilization of molecules. There are four commonly mentioned types of noncovalent interactions: hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions.

Hydrogen bonds
A hydrogen bond results when a hydrogen atom that is covalently bound to an electronegative atom (e.g. O, N, S). An example of this is the hydrogen bonds formed between two water molecules when a positively charged hydrogen atom in one molecule comes in contact with a water molecule containing negatively charged oxygen atom.

Electrovalent bond links to two or more atoms in a molecule or compound. The bond is formed by ionization. They are formed between positive and negative ions. In Ionic bond, the bond is formed by the transfer of electrons from one atom to another. The bond is non-directional, meaning that the pull of the electrons does not favor one atom over another. An example is NaCl, which is formed between the positively charged Na+ ion and the negatively charged Cl- ion. The bond strength lessens when the distance between the two ions increases. Sodium has only one electron in its outermost orbital, therefore, it can achieve the more energetically stable arrangement of a "full outer" shell by losing the lone outer electron. Chlorine on the other hand has seven electrons in its outermost shell, and it can achieve the energetically stable arrangement of a full outer shell by gaining the electron from sodium. Therefore, the atoms of sodium become positively charged cations and the atoms of chlorine become negatively charged anions and these are held together by ionic bonds as "sodium chloride" (NaCl) (table salt).

Ionic or Electrovalent bonds

Van der Waals forces

Van der Waals forces are the weakest bonds. These forces may be attractive or repulsive. They are also non-directional. These bonds are especially important in noble gases which are cooled to very low temperatures.

Hydrophobic molecules are in a polar solvent, e.g. H2O. The non-polar molecules group together to exclude water (hydrophobic means water fearing). By doing so they minimize the surface area in contact with the polar solvent. Hydrophobic interactions describe the relations between water and hydrophobes (low water-soluble molecules). Hydrophobes are nonpolar molecules and usually have a long chain of carbons that do not interact with water molecules. The mixing of fat and water is a good example of this particular interaction. The hydrophobic effect is the observed tendency of nonpolar substances to aggregate in aqueous solution and exclude water molecules. The name, literally meaning "water-fearing," describes the segregation and apparent repulsion between water and nonpolar substances. The hydrophobic effect explains the separation of a mixture of oil and water into its two components, and the beading of water on nonpolar surfaces such as waxy leaves.

Hydrophobic interactions interactions result when non-polar