Comprehensive Chemistry of Living Things: Atoms, Bonds, and Organic Molecules

Matter

Occupies space and has mass. Made of particles called atoms.

States of matter

Solid, liquid, gas, plasma.

Proton

Positive charge. Found in nucleus. Has mass? Yes.

Neutron

No charge. Found in nucleus. Has mass? Yes.

Electron

Negative charge. Around nucleus. Mass? Very small.

Adding a proton

Makes a new kind of atom.

Adding a neutron

Makes an isotope.

Elements

The building blocks of all matter.

Periodic table

A list of all of the elements arranged by number of protons.

Types of energy

Thermal, radiant, light, chemical, nuclear, electrical, gravitational, mechanical.

Chemical energy

Energy stored in food.

Light energy

Used by plants to make food.

Thermal energy

The energy of moving atoms.

Temperature

Measurement of the thermal energy in something.

Physical change in matter

No change in the substance.

Chemical change in matter

New substance is formed.

Nuclear change

Elements undergo radioactive decay and lose protons.

Chemical bond

Atoms join together in a bond.

Valence electrons

Electrons in outer shell available for bonding.

Molecules

Two or more elements stuck together, sharing electrons in a bond.

Compounds

Two or more elements whose atoms are bonded together in a fixed ratio.

Types of chemical bonds

Ionic, covalent, metallic.

Covalent Bond

A type of chemical bond in which two atoms equally share a pair of electrons.

Ionic bonds

Formed when one atom accepts or donates one or more of its valence electrons to another atom.

Ions

Formed when an atom has lost or gained more electrons than the number of protons.

Cation

Positively charged ion.

Anion

Ion with negative charge.

Polar-covalent bond

Covalent bond where the electrons are unequally shared.

Metallic bonding

Equal sharing of electrons in a sea.

Solute

The particle being dissolved.

Solvent

The substance the solute mixes into.

Solution

Uniform mixture of a substance that is dissolved.

Diffusion

Process of particles mixing into liquids or gases, or even solids.

Acid

Donates H+.

Base

OH.

pH

Below 7 for acids, above 7 for bases.

Law of Conservation of Mass

States that mass is neither created nor destroyed in any chemical reaction.

Enzymes

Proteins that act as catalysts for many of the chemical reactions.

Catalyst

Speeds up the reaction then is released; lowers the activation energy necessary to start a chemical reaction.

Organic compounds

Made of carbon and any of the following: phosphorus, oxygen, sulfur, hydrogen, and nitrogen (CHONPS).

Carbohydrates

Organic molecules with only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Monosaccharide

Simple sugars.

Disaccharide

Two monosaccharides.

Polysaccharides

More than 2 monosaccharides.

Lipids

Fats that dissolve in nonpolar solvents but not in polar solvents like water.

Saturated fats

No double bonds; solid at room temperature.

Unsaturated fats

Double bond; liquid at room temperature.

Trans-fats

Type of unsaturated fats which are uncommon in nature but can be created artificially.

Proteins

Made up of chains of amino acids.

Amino acids

There are about 20 amino acids; type and order determine which protein.

Nucleic Acids

DNA and RNA that store information to make proteins.

Nitrogen bases

Four different bases: A (Adenine), T (Thymine), C (Cytosine), G (Guanine).

Base pairing

A binds with T, C binds with G.

Genetic code

The order of the bases that determines what amino acids are made.