LECTURE PRESENTATIONS

For CAMPBELL BIOLOGY, NINTH EDITION

Jane B. Reece, Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, Robert B. Jackson

Chapter 2

The Chemical Context of Life

Lectures by
Erin Barley
Kathleen Fitzpatrick

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Concept 2.1: Matter consists of chemical
elements in pure form and in combinations
called compounds
• Biology is a multidisciplinary science
• Living organisms are subject to basic laws of
physics and chemistry
• Organisms are composed of matter
• Matter is anything that takes up space and
has mass

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Elements and Compounds
• Matter is made up of elements
• An element is a substance that cannot be
broken down to other substances by
chemical reactions (92 elements in nature)
• A compound is a substance consisting of
two or more elements in a fixed ratio
• A compound has characteristics different
from those of its elements

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Figure 2.3

Sodium (metal) Chlorine Sodium chloride

(poisonous gas) (Edible compound)
The Elements of Life
• About 20–25% of the 92 elements are
essential to life
• Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
make up 96% of living matter
• Most of the remaining 4% consists of
calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur
• Trace elements are those required by an
organism in minute quantities (Fe,
iodine,iron,copper,zinc ) an element found in
very small concentrations in a sample.

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Table 2.1
Case Study: Evolution of Tolerance to Toxic
Elements
• Some elements can be toxic, for example,
arsenic

• Some species can become adapted to

environments containing toxic elements
– For example, some plant communities are
adapted to serpentine

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Figure 2.4
Concept 2.2: An element’s properties
depend on the structure of its atoms
• Each element consists of unique atoms
• An atom is the smallest unit of matter that
still retains the properties of an element

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Subatomic Particles
• Atoms are composed of subatomic particles
• Relevant subatomic particles include

– Neutrons (no electrical charge)

– Protons (positive charge)
– Electrons (negative charge)

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 • Neutrons and protons form the atomic
nucleus
• Electrons form a cloud around the nucleus
• Neutron mass and proton mass are almost
identical and are measured in daltons

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Figure 2.5
Simplified models of helium atom

Cloud of negative Electrons

charge (2 electrons)
Nucleus

(a) (b)
 A
Atomic Number and Atomic Mass Z X
• Atoms of the various elements differ in
number of subatomic particles
• An element’s atomic number is the number
of protons in its nucleus
• An element’s mass number is the sum of
protons plus neutrons in the nucleus
• Atomic mass, the atom’s total mass, can be
approximated by the mass number

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 A
Atomic Number and Atomic Mass Z X

Mass number = number of protons + neutrons = 23

23
11Na
Atomic number = number of protons = number of electrons in a neutral atom = 11

Number of neutrons = mass number – atomic number = 23 -11 = 12

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Isotopes
• All atoms of an element have the same number
of protons but may differ in number of neutrons
• Isotopes are two atoms of an element that differ
in number of neutrons
• If an isotope has an unstable nucleus that
breaks down to emit radiation, then these are
what we call radioactive isotopes, also known
as radioisotopes.
• Radioactive isotopes decay spontaneously,
giving off particles and energy
12 13 14
6 C 6 C 6C
Radioactive
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 • Some applications of radioactive isotopes in
biological research are

– Dating fossils
– Tracing atoms through metabolic processes
– Diagnosing medical disorders
– Cobalt-60 is extensively employed as a radiation
source to arrest the development of cancer
– To sterilize medical instruments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4B94zCY4ok

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Radioactive tracers
Used to determine the effect of T on the rate
at which cells make copies of their DNA 20°C
15°C

Compounds including 35°C Incubators

radioactive tracer 45°C
(bright blue) 10°C 15°C 20°C
50°C

Human cells
25°C 30°C 35°C
1 Human cells
are incubated
with compounds used to make 40°C 45°C 50°C
DNA. One compound is labeled
with 3H.
2 Cells from each 10° 15° 20° 25° 30° 35° 40° 45° 50°
incubator are
placed in tubes;
their DNA is
isolated; and
unused labeled
compounds are
removed. DNA (old and new)
Figure 2.6b

TECHNIQUE

3 A solution called scintillation fluid is added to the test tubes which

are then placed in a scintillation counter. As the 3H in the newly made
DNA decays, it emits radiation that excites chemicals in the scintillation
fluid, causing flashes of light recorded by the scintillation counter.
Figure 2.6c

RESULTS

Counts per minute

Optimum
30 temperature
for DNA
Frequency ( 1,000) 20 synthesis
of flashes
10

0
10 20 30 40 50
Temperature (°C)