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BIOLOGY SBI3UI

MODULE 1 : THE CHEMICAL


BASIS OF LIFE

Activity 1: Chemical
Fundamentals

Lecturer : Miss Kasthuri


Jewarethnam
PART 1: BASIC CHEMISTRY:
KEY WORDS AND CONCEPTS
Atom
Ions
Intramolecular bonds
Electronegativity
Covalent molecules
Organic compounds
Functional groups
Introduction
Living organisms are composed of about 25
chemical elements
Chemicals are at the base level of biological
hierarchy
They are arranged into higher and higher
levels of structural organization
- Arrangement eventually leads to formation
of living organisms
Introduction
Living organisms are composed of matter, which is
anything that occupies space and has mass (weight)
Matter is composed of chemical elements
Elementa substance that cannot be broken down to
other substances
There are 92 elements in natureonly a few exist in a
pure state
Life requires 25 essential elements; some are called
trace elements
1. ATOMS
Atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons
An atom is the smallest unit of matter that still
retains the properties of a element
Atoms are made of over a hundred subatomic
particles, but only three are important for
biological compounds

Protonhas a single positive electrical charge


Electronhas a single negative electrical charge
Neutronis electrically neutral
STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM
STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM
Electron arrangement determines the chemical
properties of an atom

An atom may have one, two, or three electron shells


The number of electrons in the outermost shell
determines the chemical properties of the atom

Atoms want to fill their outer electron shells


To accomplish this, the atom can share, donate, or

receive electrons
This results in attractions between atoms called
chemical bonds
2. ION
An ion is an atom or molecule with an electrical
charge resulting from gain or loss of electrons =
positively or negatively charged atoms

When an electron is lost, a positive charge results;

when one is gained, a negative charge results

Two ions with opposite charges attract each other


it is called an ionic bond
Example of ionic bond formation
3. COVALENT BONDS
Covalent bonds join atoms into molecules
through electron sharing

A covalent bond results when atoms


share outer-shell electrons
A molecule is formed when atoms are
held together by covalent bonds
Covalent bonds
4. ELECTRONEGATIVITY
Unequal electron sharing creates polar molecules
Atoms in a covalently bonded molecule continually compete

for shared electrons


The attraction (pull) for shared electrons is
called electronegativity forms polar
covalent bond

The more electronegative atom (often O,N,S) will pull the


electron towards it more often and gain partial negative
charge

The electrons spend more few time away from the more
electropositive atom (H) will have partial positive
charge
EXAMPLE OF ELECTRONEGATIVITY
Water (H2O) has atoms with different
electronegativities
Oxygen attracts the shared electrons more
strongly than hydrogen
So, the shared electrons spend more time near

oxygen
The result is a polar covalent bond
5. POLAR MOLECULES
In H2O the oxygen atom has a slight negative
charge and the hydrogens have a slight positive
charge

Molecules with this unequal distribution of


electron charges are called polar molecules
5. HYDROGEN BONDS
Hydrogen bonds are weak bonds important in the
chemistry of life

Some chemical bonds are weaker than covalent bonds

Hydrogen, as part of a polar covalent bond, will share attractions


with other electronegative atoms
Examples are oxygen and nitrogen

Water molecules are electrically attracted to oppositely charged


regions on neighbouring molecules

Because the positively charged region is always a


hydrogen atom, the bond is called a hydrogen
bond
6. ORGANIC COMPOUND
Organic compounds: chemicals of life contain a
lot of Carbon. Ex. C6H12O6 (usually also hydrogen but
not always)

Hydrocarbons : only contain C and H, ex CH4

Inorganic compounds do not contain Carbon. Ex :


HCl

Carbon atoms attach to each other to form chain and


ring structures that are the backbones of the major
biological molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins
and nucleic acid)
7. FUNCTIONAL GROUP
Other elements attach to the carbon backbone
of organic compounds
These groups are more reactive and give

certain chemical properties to the molecule


Ex : -OH, -COH, -CO and COOH all polar
because of the highly electronegative oxygen
atom. Highly soluble in water
EXERCISE
PART 2: WATER
PROPERTIES OF WATER
Water is inorganic (no Carbon) but is an
important chemical to life because it comprises a
large part of living organisms

All Living organisms contain water and depend


on it for survival.

Water can be found in human cells and blood and


helps to dissolve substances necessary for life
WATER PROPERTIES
Polar covalent makes it an universal solvent
Like dissolve like: other polar
molecules/functional groups are hydrophilic and
will dissolve
Non polar molecules/functional groups are
hydrophobic and will not dissolve
As a result of its stabilizing hydrogen bond water
is able to withstand a large amount of heat before
it changes temperature
Water has a neutral pH of 7 meaning that it is
neither acidic nor basic.

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