The Chemistry of Life

MATTER
• Is anything that has mass and
takes up space.
• Can be solid, liquid or gas
 ATOMS
• Are the building blocks of
matter
 Elements
• Are substances comprised of
only 1 type of atom
 6 Elements
• 6 elements are most important
to living things.
• They bond with other atoms to
form the molecules of life
(macromolecules)—more
about this later
 3 Types of Bonds
• Ionic
• Covalent
• Hydrogen
 TYPES OF BONDS
Covalent Bond:
Electrons are shared
(animation)

Ionic Bond: Electrons

gained or lost (one atom
receives and one takes)
(animation)
 Water Properties
• Polarity

• Cohesiveness

• Adhesiveness

• Surface Tension
 Polarity
• A water molecule is polar because there is
an unequal sharing of electrons between
the oxygen and hydrogen atoms.
 Hydrogen Bonds
• Because of their partial positive and
negative charges polar molecules can
attract each other.
Hydrogen Bond: Weak bond between
molecules that have unequal distribution of
charges Animation
 Cohesion
Cohesion is an attraction between
molecules of the same substance.
Because of hydrogen bonding water is
extremely cohesive.
Example: Surface tension
is the name we give to the
cohesion of water
molecules at the surface of
a body of water.
(bugs walking on water)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Dx4C-fkBik4&feature=related
 Adhesion
• Adhesion is the attraction of different
substances to one another (Ex. Water to
side of straw)
Capillarity
Cohesion and adhesion work
together to give capillarity-the
ability of water to spread through
fine pores or to move upward
through narrow tubes against the
force of gravity.
This allows water to move up the
stem of a plant.
 Solutions and Suspensions
• A mixture is a material composed of two
or more elements or compounds that are
physically mixed, but not chemically
combined.
 Solutions and Suspensions
Two types of mixtures can be made with
water
– Solutions
– Suspensions
 Solutions
• All components of a solution are evenly
distributed throughout the solution.
• Solute: a substance that is dissolved in
another (ex: Kool-Aid powder)
• Solvent: the substance in which the solute
dissolves (ex: water)
 Solutions
When a crystal of table salt is placed in
warm water, sodium and chloride ions are
attracted to the polar water molecules.
 Suspensions
• Some materials do not dissolve when
placed in water but separate into pieces so
small that they do not settle out easily.
 Acids & Bases
• Acid: any compound that forms H+ ions in
solution
• Base: any compound that forms OH- in
solution
• Water can dissociate to form acids and
Bases
• H2O H+ + OH_
 pH Scale
• A measurement system indicating
concentrations of H+ and OH- ions in a
solution
• Ranges from 0-14
• 0-6.99=acidic solution (more H+ ions)
The lower the pH the greater the acidity
• 7=neutral
• 7.1-14= basic solution (more OH-)
The higher the pH the more basic the
solution