Chemistry of Life

Exploring Life Chapter 4

By M. Donohue
Chemistry in Biology???
-Biology is…and all living things are made up of….MATTER!
Chemistry
The study of matter and the changes it under goes
Are living things changing?

Matter Anything that takes up space (V) and has mass (g)
Composed of one or more elements
Pure substance that cannot be broken down into
Element other substances by chemical means
“basic ingredients” of matter; examples gold, helium, oxygen, nitrogen
Substance containing two OR MORE elements chemically
Compound combined in a fixed ratio
example: water, sodium chloride (aka table salt)

Smallest possible particle of an element; building block of matter

Atom -derived from Greek word “atomos” which means “indivisible”

An alternate form of an element; same # of protons, different

Isotope number of electrons
Elements
-Over 100…92 naturally occurring and the rest are synthetic/man-
Iodine
made
-made up of 1 type of atom

Pure substances
• About 25 essential elements to life
• Trace elements
• Make up less than 0.01% of body mass but are critical
Iron
Some Terminology
•Chemical Symbol
• One, two or three letters that represent an element on the
periodic table (H, Al, Uuu)
• First letter always capitalized, second (and third) ALWAYS
lowercase
• Doesn’t always have to be the first letter of the name (ex. Fe
for Iron, K for Potassium)
•Chemical Formula
• Used to represent a COMPOUND (2 or more elements
bonded together)
• Subscripts indicate the # of atoms of the preceding element
inthat compound 2H2 + O2 2 H2O
• If there is no subscript, it is 1 atom
• Ex. H2O, NaCl, C6H12O6 H2CO3(aq)  →   H2O(l) + CO2(g)
•Chemical Equation
• Representation of a chemical reaction
• Reactants go in and products come out
 Compounds
When 2 or more elements are chemically combined in fixed ratios making a new substance with new properties

PHYSICAL CHANGE/PROPERTIES CHEMICAL CHANGE/PROPERTIES

Color, shape, texture, amount When two substances are
• The actual make-up of combined to create a new
matter/substance does NOT substance with new properties
change different from those that made it
• Examples up…Combo of different elements
• Ripping a piece of paper • Examples
• Painting a wall • Water H2O
• Sodium chloride NaCl
Atomic Theory
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
1) All matter is made of atoms that are
indivisible and indestructible.
2) All atoms of a given element are identical
in mass and properties
3) Compounds are formed by a combination
of two or more different kinds of atoms.
4) A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of
atoms.
 Structure of an Atom
-smallest unit of matter that retains properties of element
-Atom has an electric charge of zero (all positives equal negatives)

Proton Neutron Electron

Charge POSITIVE + Neutral 0 NEGATIVE -

Location Nucleus Nucleus Electron cloud

around nucleus

Relative size to
each other
 •Atomic Number= Number of protons
•You can find this on the periodic table
• (smaller # by the element…goes in
numerical order)
•In a neutral atom: (charge of 0)
# of p+ = # of e- -

•Mass Number = the number of

protons and neutrons in the
nucleus of an atom
• (bigger # on PT)
•# of neutrons= mass# - atomic#
Periodic Table Terminology
•Rows (go left to right) are called Periods
•Columns (that go up and down) are called
GROUPS or FAMILIES
•Number your columns…1(H),2, skip all the
ones that drop down, 3 (B), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
•Families share similar characteristics
• Groups of friends have similar interests, act the same
• Elements in the same group/family have the SAME
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
• They react the same!!
•Opposites attract…+protons attract
-electrons and hold them in place in
the electron cloud
•Electrons are arranged in “orbitals”
around the nucleus
•First orbital/ring has a maximum
capacity for 2 electrons
•Each ring after has a MAX Capacity
for 8 electrons
•VALENCE electrons are the ones in
the outer most ring!
•Columns of the periodic table
tell you how many valence
electrons there are
•# of Protons
•# of Electrons
•# of neutrons
•Mass #
•Chemical Reactivity
• More on this later
 PRACTICE!!
For each of the following, determine:
a. Atomic Number
b. Mass Number
c. Number of Protons
d. Number of Electrons
e. Number of neutrons

1. GOLD
2.POTASSIUM
3.XENON
4. GERMANIUM
5. TUNGSTEN
 Chemical Reactivity
Ability of one substance to combine with another
substance and form a new substance
***ELECTRONS*** determine
chemical reactivity
•With the EXCEPTION of He
•Time to play..the
and H (why do you think they
are by themselves), all atoms RINGS!!!
want to try and have 8
Valence (outer) electrons
•H and He only need 2 to be
happy
•8 valence e- = 
•2 v.e. =  for H and He