ENGINEERING

BIOLOGY:
CHEMICAL BASIS OF LIFE
Richa Sharma
Class I

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Biology- study of life

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Meaning of “life”

• Life : No simple definition, but five fundamental characteristics a living form

should have
▪Cells : Organisms are made up of membrane-bound units called cells.
▪Replication : Almost everything an organism does contributes to one goal:
replicating itself. Become 2 from 1.
▪ Evolution : Organisms are the products of evolution. Among different
variants of an organism the most suitable will be selected by nature.
▪ Information : Organisms process hereditary, or genetic, information
encoded in units called genes. Organisms also respond to information from
the environment and adjust to maintain stable internal conditions.
▪ Energy : To stay alive and reproduce, organisms have to acquire and use
energy. To give just two examples: plants absorb sunlight; animals ingest
food.
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 Hierarchy of life

LIVING
FORMS

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 Molecules - atoms & bonds
▪ Most abundant
elements in life
are:
H, C, N, O, P, S
▪ Make up about
99% of our
bodies
BONDS
▪ Covalent
▪ Polar
▪ Non polar

▪ Ionic

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 Molecules of life - water

• WATER
• Life arose in water, and is dependent on it today.
• 75 percent of the volume in a typical cell is water; water is the most
abundant molecule in living organisms
• Chemical reactions that helped to form life and those that sustain life
today, can only take place if two molecules are in contact. And this
contact can only be brought about in a solution. Water acts as a solvent in
this solution.

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 Important properties of water
▪ Most effective solvent
▪ Polarity
▪ Hydrophilic and hydrophobic

▪ Cohesive and adhesive forces

▪ Density decreases when frozen
▪ High specific heat
▪ Important role in ionisation of molecules

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 Chemical reactions
• Its said that complex molecules of life was formed by chemical reactions
between simple molecules like ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrogen etc.
• Transfer of energy required for chemical reactions
• Potential energy = Stored energy = Shared electrons
• If the electrons in a bond are held closer to an atom, the bond is tighter,
stronger and shorter in length. PE is lesser.
• Atoms bound together with weak bonds have tendency to break and reform
new molecules with stronger bonds. They try to form products with less
energy. This natural tendency is spontaneity.

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 Origin of life
• The theory of chemical evolution
• The theory maintains that:
▪ Simple molecules like water, methane, carbon dioxide were present in
atmosphere
▪ Inputs of energy led to the formation of increasingly complex
carbon-containing substances, culminating in a molecule that could
replicate itself.
▪ When it could replicate it became a life form
▪ As the original molecule multiplied, the process of evolution by natural
selection took over.
▪ Eventually a descendant of the original molecule became metabolically
active and acquired a membrane. So it became a cell.
▪ When this occurred, the five attributes of life were fulfilled. Life had
begun.

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 Probable reactions
• Deep-sea thermal vents and volcanoes
• Energy from bombarded photons – sun or
lightning

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 Molecules of life - Carbon
• Many molecules that contain carbon bonded to other elements, such as
hydrogen, are called organic compounds.
• Crucial because carbon has
valency 4. So single double, triple bonds can be
formed. And so molecules will have different shapes and functions.
• The other essential H, O, N, P, S attach with carbon in groups – these are
called functional groups.

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Important functional groups

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Important functional groups
contd.

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What next?
• Once carbon-containing molecules with functional groups had
appeared early in Earth’s history:
• Small carbon-based molecules had to form still larger, more
complex molecules like those found in living cells.
• Such as: —proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and
lipids—formed,
• With specific function in organisms today
• CHEMICAL EVOLUTION

NEXT: PROTEINS
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