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Chemical Basis For Life
Unit 2: Event
Objectives
Describe the unique properties of water and how these properties support life on Earth (e.g., freezing point, high specific heat, cohesion).
Explain how carbon is uniquely suited to form biological macromolecules. Carbon is small and has a valence electron number of four which allows it to form up to four covalent bonds.
Describe how biological macromolecules form from monomers.
Compare the structure and function of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in organisms.
Describe the role of an enzyme as a catalyst in regulating a specific biochemical reaction.
Explain how factors such as pH, temperature, and concentration levels can affect enzyme function.
Summary
Water is a polar molecule. Carbon can bond with many elements, including hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen to form the molecules of life. - The function of macromolecules is directly related to their chemical structure. - Living things use carbohydrates as their main source of energy. The smallest unit of matter that still retains the properties of an element is an atom. Electrons are found in different electron shells, with the energy levels increasing as the shells are further away from the nucleus. Trace Elements are Required by an organism, but only in minute quantities, like iodine for humans
Essential Questions
How do the unique properties of water support life on Earth?
Why is carbon uniquely suited to form biological macromolecules?
How do biological macromolecules form from monomers?
What are the differences and similarities in the function and structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids?
How do enzymes serve as catalysts in biochemical reactions?
How do pH, temperature, and concentration levels affect enzyme function?
Key Terms and Definitions
Carbohydrate
a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues and including sugars, starch, and cellulose.
Nucleic Acid
a complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA, whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain.
Lipids
a class of organic compounds that are fatty acids or their derivatives and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents
Proteins
a class of nitrogenous organic compounds that consist of large molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids and are an essential part of all living organisms, especially as structural components of body tissues such as muscle, hair, collagen, etc., and as enzymes and antibodies.
Monomers
molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer.
Polymers
a substance that has a molecular structure consisting chiefly or entirely of a large number of similar units bonded together,
Monosaccharides
any of the class of sugars that cannot be hydrolyzed to give a simpler sugar.
Disaccharides
a class of sugars whose molecules contain two monosaccharide residues.
Polysaccharides
a carbohydrate whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together.
Fatty Acids
a carboxylic acid consisting of a hydrocarbon chain and a terminal carboxyl group, especially any of those occurring as esters in fats and oils.
Amino Acid
a simple organic compound containing both a carboxyl and an amino group
Adhesion
The force of attraction between unlike molecules, or the attraction between the surfaces of contacting bodies.
Macromolecules
a molecule containing a very large number of atoms, such as a protein, nucleic acid, or synthetic polymer.
Freezing point
the temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid when cooled.
Nucleic acid
a complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA, whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain.
Specific heat
the heat required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of given substance by a given amount.
Unit 2: About
Mutuple choice Question
The smallest unit of matter that still retains the properties of an element is an?
A
Cell
B
Baseball
C
ATOM
D
Electron
Unit 2: Event
Short answer Question
Electrons are found in different electron shells with?
Unit 2: Inner_about
Answer key
Mulitiple Choice Question Answer / Multiple choice question answer
The energy levels increasing as the shells are further away from the nucleus. / D
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Unit 2: Inner_about
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