Chemistry of Life
Valentin and Pierce
Characteristics of Water
Water is needed for all life! Water doesn't have a taste to it. The pH value of water is 7. Water is a great solvent and can dissolve more than any other liquid item, including the most acid liquid in the world.
Adhesion is the attraction between different substances; ex. droplets in a cup.
Cohesion is attraction between substances of the same kind; ex. water and water. It also has the highest cohesion of any non-metallic liquid.
Polarity on water is positive on the sides with the hydrogen and negative on the oxygen side. The positive poll of the atom will attach itself to the negative poll.
Heat Storage- water has a very high heat capacity, which means it is capable of holding onto heat. That is why it is hard to heat or cool our oceans which are heat sinks and regulate temperature and climate of the planet.
Water Molecule (H2O)
Water: 3 States; Solid, Liquid, Gas(Vapor)
Top: Cohesion Bottom: Adhesion
Macromolecules
- are large molecules that make up majority of the insides of our body; our life.
They make up the for main molecules for life:
Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids(fats), and Nucleic Acids. Those four are the ingredients for life because they are the instructions, essential sources of energy, and they store energy.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the basic source of energy for all of our cells. Glucose is an example and is a monosaccharide. ( mono-one; saccharide-sugar). Cellulous is the most common organic molecule. Organic meaning made up of hydrogen. Glycogen is what stores our energy.
Proteins
Proteins are made from amino acids which are the building blocks for them. Proteins play a very important vital roll. They produce hemoglobin which carries the oxygen in our blood cells around our body, make anti-bodies to defend our body, ion channeling proteins that control brain signaling, actin and myosin which enable all muscular movement, and there are many more. A protein becomes active when it is in its final shape, and the shape is what also determines its job. Protein could be in many shapes and sizes.
Lipids
Lipids are long term energy. Lipids are made from glycerol and fatty acids. They also make up cell membranes. Saturated fats are long chains of carbons with all bonds filled by hydrogen's and look like a straight chain and our solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats have one double bond which cause a "kink" in the chain that does not allow the fat to solidify. Polyunsaturated fats have one more than one double bond in the chains.
Nucleic Acids
Nucleic Acids make up DNA, RNA, and ATP. DNA is our deoxyribonucleic acid which is our heredity, traits, and genes. RNA is ribonucleic acid which carries the instructions for making our proteins. ATP is adenosine triphosphate which is our energy bank.
Enzymes
- are proteins (type of macromolecule)
Enzymes look like an egg with the letter "F" carved into it. The lock and key function is that the substrate is the key because it enters the enzyme as a key and the active site is what locks it in. That is what the lock and key function is.
Activation Energy is a little bit of energy that is given to get the reaction started.
Ex. If an enzyme was on a match it would lower the friction so you could just simply wave it in the air.
If the temperature is higher, the reactions happen much faster rate. The pH affects the enzyme affects them by their shape and structure. The active sites are only active in a certain range.
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