The Chemical Basis of

Life
 Basic principles of chemistry
 It is important for us to understand the
basic principles of chemistry so we can
understand how the human body is
organized.
 Elements
 Matter —anything that has mass and
occupies space
 Element—simple form of matter, a substance
that cannot be broken down into two or more
different substances
 There are 26 elements in the human body
 There are 11 “major elements,” four of which (carbon,
oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen) make up 96% of the
human body
 There are 15 “trace elements” that make up less than
2% of body weight
 Compounds
 Compound—atoms of two or more
elements joined to form chemical
combinations

 List some compounds that are made up in

your body.
 Atoms
 Atomic structure—atoms contain several
different kinds of subatomic particles; the
most important are the following:
 Protons (+ or p)—positively charged
subatomic particles found in the nucleus
 Neutrons (n)—neutral subatomic particles
found in the nucleus
 Electrons (– or e)—negatively charged
subatomic particles found in the electron
cloud
 Atomic Number
 Atomic number
 The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus
 The atomic number is critically important; it
identifies the kind of element
 Atomic Weight
 Atomic weight
 The mass of a single atom
 It is equal to the number of protons plus the
number of neutrons in the nucleus (p + n)
 Basic Chemistry
 Energy levels
 The total number of electrons in an atom
equals the number of protons in the nucleus
(in a stable atom)
 The electrons form a “cloud” around the
nucleus
 Basic Chemistry
 Isotopes
 Isotopes of an element contain the same
number of protons but contain different
numbers of neutrons
 Isotopes have the same atomic number, and
therefore the same basic chemical properties,
as any other atom of the same element, but
they have a different atomic weight
 Molecules and Compounds
 Molecule—two or more atoms joined together
 Compound—consists of molecules formed by
atoms of two or more elements
 Three types of bonds
 Covalent—formed by sharing of electron
pairs between atoms
 Ionic—formed by transfer of electrons;
strong electrostatic force that binds
positively and negatively charged ions
together
 Hydrogen---much weaker than ionic or
covalent bonds results from unequal
charge distribution on molecules
 Three chemical reaction in human
physiology
 There are three main chemical reactions
in human physiology:
1) Synthesis reaction
2) Decomposition reaction
3) Exchange reaction
 Synthesis reaction
 Synthesisreaction—combining of two or more
substances to form a more complex substance;
formation of new chemical bonds: A + B → AB

Example:
Amino Acid + Amino Acid → Protein
 Decomposition reaction
 Decomposition reaction—breaking down of a
substance into two or more simpler substances;
breaking of chemical bonds: AB → A + B

Example:
ATP → ADP + P + Energy (Heat)
 Exchange reaction
 Exchangereaction—decomposition of two
substances and, in exchange, synthesis of two
new compounds from them: AB + CD → AD + CB

Example:
H*Lactate + NaHCO3 → Na*Lactate + H*HCO3
 Metabolism
 Metabolism—all of the chemical
reactions that occur in body cells

 There are two types of metabolism:

-Catabolism
-Anabolism
 Catabolism
 Chemical reactions that break down complex
compounds into simpler ones and release energy;
hydrolysis is a common catabolic reaction
 Ultimately, the end products of catabolism are carbon
dioxide, water, and other waste products
 More than half the energy released is transferred to
ATP, which is then used to do cellular work (Figure 2-
28)
 Metabolism
 Anabolism
 Chemical reactions that join simple molecules
together to form more complex molecules
 Chemical reaction responsible for anabolism
is dehydration synthesis
Organic vs. Inorganic Molecules
 Organic molecules is  Inorganic compounds
a compound that —few have carbon
contains carbon— atoms and none have
specifically C-C or C–C or C–H bonds
C-H bond
 Inorganic Compounds
 Water
 The body’s most abundant and important
compound
 Properties of water (Table 2-2)
 Polarity—allows water to act as an effective
solvent; ionizes substances in solution (Figure 2-8)
 The solvent allows transportation of essential
materials throughout the body (Figure 2-12)
 Properties of water
 Polarity—allows water to act as an effective
solvent; ionizes substances in solution
 The solvent allows transportation of essential
materials throughout the body
 High specific heat—water can lose and gain large
amounts of heat with little change in its own
temperature; enables the body to maintain a relatively
constant temperature
 High heat of vaporization—water requires absorption
of significant amounts of heat to change water from a
liquid to a gas, allowing the body to dissipate excess
heat
 Inorganic Compounds
 Oxygen and carbon dioxide—closely
related to cellular respiration
 Oxygen—required to complete decomposition
reactions necessary for the release of energy
in the body
 Carbon dioxide—produced as a waste
product, also helps maintain the appropriate
acid-base balance in the body
 Inorganic Compounds
 Electrolytes
 Large group of inorganic compounds, which
includes acids, bases, and salts
 Substances that dissociate in solution to form
ions
 Positively charged ions are cations; negatively
charged ions are anions
 Inorganic Compounds
 Acids and bases—common and important chemical
substances that are chemical opposites
 Acids
 Any substance that releases a hydrogen ion (H+) when
in solution; “proton donor”
 Level of “acidity” depends on the number of hydrogen
ions a particular acid will release
 Bases
 Electrolytes that dissociate to yield hydroxide ions (OH–)
or other electrolytes that combine with hydrogen ions
(H+)
 Described as “proton acceptors”
 Organic Compounds
 There are 4 major organic compounds
that are important to humans:
Macromolecules:
1) Carbohydrates
2) Proteins
3) Lipids
4) Nucleic Acids
 Carbohydrates
 There are three main carbohydrates:
1) Monosaccharides (simple sugars)
2) Disaccharides (double sugars)
3) Polysaccharides (complex sugars)
 Carbohydrates
 Carbohydrates—organic compounds
containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen;
commonly called sugars and starches
 Monosaccharides—simple sugars with short
carbon chains; those with six carbons are
hexoses (e.g., glucose), whereas those with five
are pentoses (e.g., ribose, deoxyribose)
 Disaccharides and polysaccharides—two (di-) or
more (poly-) simple sugars that are bonded
together through a synthesis reaction
 Proteins
 Most abundant organic compounds
 Chainlike polymers
 Amino acids—building blocks of proteins

 Essential amino acids—eight amino acids that cannot be

produced by the human body
 Nonessential amino acids—12 amino acids can be
produced from molecules available in the human body
 Amino acids consist of a carbon atom, an amino group, a
carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a side chain
 Organic Molecules
 Lipids
 Water-insoluble organic molecules that are
critically important biological compounds
 Major roles:
 Energy source
 Structural role
 Integral parts of cell membranes
 Lipids
Triglycerides, or fats
 Most abundant lipids and most concentrated
source of energy
 The building blocks of triglycerides are glycerol
(the same for each fat molecule) and fatty acids
(different for each fat, they determine its chemical
nature)
 Types of fatty acids—saturated fatty acid (all available
bonds are filled) and unsaturated fatty acid (has one or
more double bonds)
 Triglycerides are formed by a dehydration synthesis
 Lipids
 Phospholipids
 Fat compounds similar to triglyceride
 One end of the phospholipid is water-soluble
(hydrophilic); the other end is fat-soluble
(hydrophobic)
 Phospholipids can join two different chemical
environments
 Phospholipids may form double layers called
bilayers that make up cell membranes
 Lipids
 Steroids
 Main component is steroid nucleus
 Involved in many structural and functional roles
 Nucleic acids
 There are two types of nucleic acids:
 1) DNA
 2) RNA
 Nucleic Acids
 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
 Composed of deoxyribonucleotides; that is,
structural units composed of the pentose sugar
(deoxyribose), phosphate group, and nitrogenous
base (cytosine, thymine, guanine, or adenine)
 DNA molecule consists of two long chains of
deoxyribonucleotides coiled into double-helix
shape
 Alternating deoxyribose and phosphate units form
backbone of the chains
 Nucleic Acids
 Base pairs hold the two chains of DNA
molecule together
 DNA functions as the molecule of heredity
 Nucleic Acids
 RNA (ribonucleic acid) (Figure 2-29, Table 2-7)
 Composed of the pentose sugar (ribose), phosphate
group, and a nitrogenous base
 Nitrogenous bases for RNA are adenine, uracil,
guanine, or cytosine (uracil replaces thymine)
 Some RNA molecules are temporary copies of
segments (genes) of the DNA code and are involved
in synthesizing proteins
 Some RNA molecules are regulatory, acting as
enzymes (ribozymes) or silencing gene expression
(RNA interference)
 Similarities and Difference of DNA
and RNA
 Have similar  Differences:
nucleotides: -Double helix vs. single
Adenine (A) helix
Guanine (G) -Ribose sugar vs.
Cytosine (C) deoxyribose sugar
-RNA has a nucleotide
of Uracil and DNA
has a nucleotide of
thymine
 Energy
 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)- transfers
energy from one chemical pathway to
another. It is composed of one adenine
molecule and three phosphate molecules.