CHEMISTRY

CHAPTER 2
 Basic concepts in Chemistry
• Matter-anything that occupies space and has
weight. Three states of matter-solid, liquid and
gas. The amount of matter is termed-mass.
• Elements-smallest unit of matter. There are 92
naturally occurring elements. Chemical symbols.
Refer to tab2-1 pg. 32 for elements present in the
living organism and their significance.
 ATOMS
• Atoms-smallest unit of element that retains
properties of the element.
• nucleus and electron cloud
• electrons, protons and neutrons
• atomic number and mass number
• isotopes
• energy levels
 Atoms
• Ions: charged atoms. Cations and anions
• Molecules: combination of two or more
atoms with a bond.
• Free radicals
• compounds: a substance that can be broken
to two or more elements. eg. water.
 Chemical Bonds
• Ionic Bond:attraction between two
oppositely charged atoms (ions), cation and
anion.
• Covalent bond:bond formed by sharing of
electrons.
• Hydrogen bond: a weak attractive force
between hydrogen of one molecule and
oxygen or nitrogen of another.
 Chemical Reactions
• Definition: when new bonds form and old
bonds break between atoms.
• reactants and products
• metabolism-anabolism and catabolism
• work
• energy- kinetic and potential
• endergonic vs. exergonic
 Types of Reactions
• Decomposition: AB------>A + B-catabolism
• synthesis: A + B --------> AB-anabolism
• exchange: AB + CD --------> AC + BD
• reversible: A+ B -------> AB
• redox: loss of electrons oxidation

– gain of electrons-reduction
 Inorganic compounds
• Water and its properties
– high heat capacity
– surface tension
– good solvent
– hydrolysis reactions
– lubricant
• aqueous solutions: all nutrients etc. carried in
the blood in the form of aqueous solutions.
 Acids, Bases & Salts
• acids, bases and salts
– acids are substances that release hydrogen ions.
– Bases are substances that release hydroxyl ions or accept
hydrogen ions.
– Salts release ions other than hydrogen or hydroxyl.
• pH-measure of hydrogen ion concentration in the
solution. It is a negative log scale. Acids have pH
below 7 and bases have pH above 7.
 Buffers

• These are substances that resist changes in pH.

• Made of a combination of a weak acid or base and
its salt.
• Convert strong acids to weak acids and strong bases
to weak bases.
• Most common base found in the living system is
made of carbonic acid and bicarbonate.
 Organic Chemistry
• Study of carbon and its compounds.
• Organic compounds are largely made of
carbon and hydrogen. They are complex
structurally and held together by covalent
bonds.
• Carbon skeleton and major functional groups.
• Monomers, polymers, and isomers.
 Organic compounds
• For each organic compound know what it
is, the major elements, the major types,
examples, functions, where it is located in
the body and foods that contain it. Also be
able to recognize them given the structure.
• Four organic compounds are:
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic
acids.
 Carbohydrates
• An organic molecule that contains the elements
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio 1:2:1.
Also termed sugars.
• Types: monosaccharides (glucose, fructose),
disaccharides (sucrose, maltose) and
polysaccharides (starch, cellulose and glycogen).
• Energy source, energy storage, stuctural support.
• Foods-
 Lipids
• Organic molecules with the elements C, H and O
that are insoluble in water. Ratio is not 1:2:1.
• Lipids are classified into-fatty acids, triglycerides,
steroids, phospholipids, prostaglandins.
• Energy source, energy storage, insulation, cell
membrane components, hormones.
• Foods:
 Proteins
• Organic polymers of amino acids with the elements C, H,
O, N.
• peptide bond
• proteins are classified based on their function -support,
movement, transport, buffering, metabolic regulation,
hormones, defense.
• Structural organization of proteins- primary, secondary,
tertiary and quaternary.
• Denaturation-loss of function due to loss of shape.
• Foods:
 Enzymes
• Definition: organic catalysts that speed up chemical
reactions by lowering activation energy.
• substrate and products
• names end with the letters -ase.
• activation energy-energy required to start a reaction.
• enzyme activity-lock and key model and induced-fit
hypothesis.
• factors that affect enzyme activity: temperature, pH,
metals, coenzymes.
 Nucleic Acids
• Organic polymers of nucleotides with the
elements C, H, O, N and P.
• the major types are RNA and DNA.
• DNA -genetic information.
• RNA-protein synthesis.
• Differences between RNA and DNA.
 Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
• This is the energy molecule of life.
• Mostly generated in the mitochondria of each
cell by cellular respiration.
• Liberates energy by removal of one or two
terminal phosphate groups.
• ATP-----> ADP + P + energy
• ADP + P + energy--------> ATP. Catalyzed by
ATP synthase.