The Chemistry of Life

Overview: A chemical connection to biology Duroia hirsute aka Devils gardens are small flowering trees that dominate the amazon forest. Ants (Myrmelachista schumanni) tend to this garden, the ants of course do not plant the trees but they inject intruders with a poisonous chemical called formic acid. Concept 2.1 Organisms are composed of matter, which is defined by anything that takes up space and has a mass. Matter is made up of elements, which are substances that cannot be broken down through a chemical reaction. An compound consists of two or more elements combined in a fix ratio, it is important to note that the compound has different characteristics than the element. The Elements of Life Out of the 92 elements, only 20-25% is essential elements that an organism needs to live a healthy life and reproduce. Most organisms need the same elements except for some exceptions for example, humans need 25, plants only need 17. Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen and hydrogen make up 96% of living matter. Calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur account for the other 4%. Trace elements are only required in small amounts by organism. For example, Fe is needed in all forms of life; while Iodine is only needed in vertebrates. Some elements are dangerous to humans, for example arsenic has been linked to numerous diseases which are found in water in southern Asia. Serpentine soils Concept Checks 2.1 1. Emergent properties of table salt is that a metal combines with a poisonous gas to produce a compound that is edible. 2. Trace elements are only needed in small qualities where as essential elements is needed for an organism to live healthy and reproduce. 3. Iron deficiency results in anemia, which is a condition in which there is a deficiency of red blood cells. 4. Natural selection is when something adapts to its environment to survive, most plants cannot live in soils that contain toxic elements (Chromium, nickel, and cobalt) but serpentine has adapted to living in that condition. Concept 2.2 An atom is the smallest unit of matter made up of smaller parts called subatomic particles: neutrons, protons and electrons. 1. The protons and neutrons are inside the atomic nucleus, whereas the electrons are outside. It is the interactions between the positive charges (protons) and negative charges (electrons) that keep the electrons around the nucleus. 2. Neutrons and protons weight about the same with a mass of 1.7x10^-24 grams. But grams are not good when measuring something so small, therefore we use the measurement called

Dalton, in honor of John Dalton who developed the atomic theory. Dalton is the same as amu. The neutrons and protons weigh about 1 dalton. Electrons are actually 1/2000 the mass of that of a neutron or proton; therefore, it is ignored. The isotopes of an element have different numbers of neutrons but same number of protons. Isotopes have different masses but they behave exactly the same in reactions. Some isotopes are radioactive isotopes, which mean that they decay spontaneously, which leads to a change in protons; thus, leading to a change in the element. For example, when carbon-13 decays, it becomes nitrogen. Radioactive isotopes can be used to follow atoms through metabolism because they can be easily detected; an experiment found that DNA production is highest at 35 degrees Celsius. PET (positron-emission tomography) can detect locations of intense chemical activity in the body. Only electrons are involved in the chemical reactions between atoms. Valence electrons are the electrons on the outermost shell; likewise, valence shells are the outermost shells. Inert elements have a full valance shell and are considered to be chemically inactive. The 3-D dimensional space where an electron is found 90% of the time is in the orbital Concept Checks 2.2 1. 7 Dalton 2. Atomic number: 7 Atomic mass: 15 3. Fluorine has 9 electrons, 2 electron shells, 1s2s2p, 1 electron is needed to fill the valence shell. 4. Same row= same number of electron shells, same column= same number of electrons in their valence shell. Concept 2.3