Thermodynamics of

Biological Systems

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lecture, students should
be able to:
understand laws and principles of
thermodynamics
understand the correlations between
thermodynamic and biochemical events

Essential Question
What are the laws and principles of
thermodynamics that allow us to
describe the flows and interchanges of
heat, energy, and matter in biochemical
systems?

Outline
What are the basic concepts of
thermodynamics?
What can thermodynamic parameters tell us
about biochemical events?

What Are the Basic Concepts of

Thermodynamics?
The system the portion of the
universe with which we are concerned.
The surroundings - everything else
Isolated system - cannot exchange
matter or energy with its surrounding
Closed system - can exchange energy
Open system - can exchange either or
both

Isolated system

Closed system

Open system

Bioenergetics
Study of the various types of energy
transformations that occur in living
organisms
ENERGY capacity to do work
All cells require energy for various
purposes;
Synthesis of large molecule
Cell division (mitosis and meiosis)
Uptake nutrients
Active transport in cells

Types of Energy
Chemical energy stored in chemicals bond of
molecules,e.g glucose
Nuclear energy within atomic nuclei
Radiant / solar energy is the transport energy
from the sun as electromagnetic waves
Heat energy flow of the thermal energy from
a hotter object to a colder one
Electrical energy the flow of charged particles
Mechanical energy the movement of body

Mechanical energy
Can exist as stored energy, that is
the energy of position, called
potential energy or as kinetic
energy, the energy of motion.
Example; Drawn bow and a boulder
resting at the top of a hill.

Drawn bow and a boulder resting

at the top of a hill.

Two alternate states of energy

Potential energy-energy of object by virtue of
its position; rock perched on edge of cliff; has
potential to do work since it exists in a field of
force (a gravitational field)
Kinetic energy - energy of motion; push rock
over cliff edge -> falls (& can perform work);
e. g., directed movement of Na+ ions in cell is
kinetic energy & can be used to do work

Two factors must be considered in

the measurement of energy at
work
1. Potential factor - proportional to intensity of field of
force (distance rock will fall; voltage of charged ions
when considering their movement)
2. Capacity factor - provides some measure of "size" of
subject being considered (rocks mass); combined
charge of particles when considering movement of
charged ions)

The First Law

The Total Energy of an Isolated System
is Conserved
Law of conservation of energy -energy cannot be
created or destroyed, but only changed from one form
into another or transferred from one object to another.

Example:Water can produce electricity. Water falls

from the sky, converting potential energy to kinetic
energy. This energy is then used to rotate the
turbine of a generator to produce electricity. In this
process, the potential energy of water in a dam can
be turned into kinetic energy which can then
become electric energy.

 Total energy in Universe is constant.

Universe divided into 2 parts:
system under study
surrounding

Exothermic/endothermic
Exothermic: reaction that result in heat lost to
the environment
spontaneous
Endothermic : those that result in heat gained
from the environment
nonspontaneous

Enthalpy (H)
Thermodynamic potential i.e. internal energy of a
system (the heat of the reaction at a constant
pressure)
H = E + PV
H: the heat transferred in a constant pressure
process;
E: the heat transferred in a constant volume
process;
P = Pressure; V=volume

ENTHALPY
Sign of H

Description

Term used

Positive (+) H

Consumes heat energy

Endothermic

Negative () H

Releases heat energy

Exothermic

The Second Law

Systems Tend Toward Disorder and
Randomness
When energy is converted from one form to
another (energy available to do work) is
degraded into a less-usable form (heat) that
disperses into the environment. As a result,
the amount of usable energy available to do
work in the universe decreases over time.
Less-usable energy is more diffuse or
disorganized
Total amount of energy in the universe is not
decreasing with time.

The Second Law

Systems Tend Toward Disorder and
Randomne

Expresses concept that events in

universe have direction.
Systems tend to proceed from
ordered to disordered states.
All
processes
proceed
toward
equilibrium - i.e., minimum potential
energy.

Entropy (S)
A measure of disorder or randomness
An ordered state is what we refer to as low
entropy (usable energy)
A disordered state is what we refer to as high
entropy (heat)
Eg: Ice melting
Well-formed ice: water molecules are in
ordered state = entropy is low
Melted ice: water molecule is at random =
entropy is high

The Second Law

Systems Tend Toward Disorder
and Randomne
As a result of the second law of
thermodynamics,
no
process
requiring an energy conversion is
ever 100% efficient, because much of
energy is dispersed as heat, resulting
in an increase in entrophy
Example; our cells, utilization of
energy is 50% efficient, remaining as
heat.

Example : Food Web

The Third Law

Absolute Zero
The entropy of any crystalline, perfectly ordered
substance must approach zero as the
temperature approaches 0 K
At T = 0 K, entropy is exactly zero

Gibbs Free Energy (G)

Combinesenthalpyandentropyinto a single
value. The change infree energy, G,is equal
to the sum of the enthalpy plus the product of
the temperature and entropy of the system.
G canpredict the direction of the chemical
reaction under two conditions: (1) constant
temperature and (2) constant pressure.
If G is positive, then the reaction is
nonspontaneous (it requires the input of
external energyto occur) and if it is negative,
then it is spontaneous (occurs without external
energy input).

Gibbs Free Energy

Hypothetical quantity - allows chemists to asses
whether reactions will occur
G = H TS
The sum of its enthalpy (H) and the product
of the temperature and the entropy (S) of
the system.
For any process at constant P and T:
G = H TS
G = change in free energy, H = change in
entalpy, (temperature) change in entropy
If G = 0, reaction is at equilibrium

 The change in free energy (G) that

accompanies
a
reaction
determines
whether that reaction is spontaneous at a
given temperature and pressure.
A negative free energy change (G<0)
is characteristic of a spontaneous reaction.
A positive free energy change (G>0)
indicates that the reaction is not
spontaneous.

 State of molecules at start and end of reaction.

start

end

Thermodynamics in glucose metabolism

Energy Transfer
Energy acquired from sunlight or food
must be used to drive endergonic (energyrequiring) processes in the organisms.
Two classes of biomolecules do this:
Reduced coenzymes (NADH, FADH2)
High-energy
phosphate
compounds
(ATP) - free energy of hydrolysis more
negative -25 kJ/mol)

ATP
PEP (phosphoenolpyruvate) and 1,3-BPG (1,3
bis-phosphoglycerate) are created in the
course of glucose breakdown.
Their energy (and phosphates) are transferred to
ADP to form ATP.
But ATP is only a transient energy carrier - it
quickly passes its energy to a host of energyrequiring processes

End of lecture