Professional Documents
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Chemical
Basis of Life
Key Concepts
1. Strong chemical bonds
• Nonpolar covalent bonds
• Polar covalent bonds
• Ionic bonds
2. Weak chemical bonds
• Hydrogen bonds
• Nonpolar interactions
3. Acids and bases
• Water dissociation
• The pH scale
• Buffers
Outline: Insightful Questions to Ask
1. What are chemical bonds?
2. What determines the number of bonds in which
an atom can participate?
3. What determines the type of chemical bond?
4. What is hydrogen bonding and why does it
matter?
5. What are the connections between water
dissociation, pH, and acid-base reactions?
6. What functional chemical groups commonly
affect biological systems?
The Basics about Bonds
• Chemical bonds always involve electrons.
• Electrons “orbit”
in shells around
the nucleus of
an atom.
• General rule:
Electrons in the
outermost shell
affect the
chemical
reactivity of the
atom.
The Basics about Bonds
• For all biologically-relevant atoms, each electron
shell can hold a certain number of electrons
– 1st shell: 1 or 2 electrons
– Subsequent shells: 1 to 8 electrons each
– Ionic bond
Na = 0.93, Cl = 3.16 3.16 – 0.93 = 2.23
– Covalent bond
C = 2.55, H = 2.20 2.55 – 2.20 = 0.35
Amphipathic Compounds
• Have some chemical groups that are
polar and other groups that are
nonpolar, all on the same molecule
• Examples: proteins, phospholipids
Summary: Bonding and Charge
Remember this Example?
• Hydrogen bonding is
responsible for base-
pairing in DNA, which
enables organisms to pass
on heritable traits.
Understanding Acids & Bases
• Certain compounds dissolved in water will
promote the release of H+ or OH-.
– Acids stimulate release of H+ (or uptake of OH-)
– Bases stimulate release of OH- (or uptake of H+)
• Where do the H+ and OH- come from?
– Dissociation of water:
Understanding Acids & Bases
Test Your Understanding
1. Which of these molecules is acting like an
acid and which is acting like a base?
Acid Base
NH2 NH3+
Full equation: NH2 + H2O NH3+ + OH-
COOH COO -
Full equation: COOH + OH- COO- + H2O
Understanding the pH Scale
• pH = - log[H+]
• Change of
1 pH unit =
10-fold change
in [H+]
• Acidic range:
[H+] > 10-7M
pH < 7
• Basic range:
[H+] < 10-7M
pH > 7
Understanding Buffers
• Buffers resist pH changes by either releasing
or taking up H+, thereby stabilizing cells.
• Important buffer in blood plasma: