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Chemical Context of Life - Coggle Diagram
Chemical Context of Life
Organisms are composed of
Matter
which is anything that takes up space and has mass
is made up of
Elements
which are substances that cannot be broken down into other substances via chemical reactions
when combined in fixed ratios form
Compounds
Of the 92 naturally occurring ones, only about 20-25% are
Essential elements
which are elements that are needed to live a healthy life and reproduce
96% are C,H,O,N
Other 4% are
Trace elements
which are elements that the body cannot produce on their own yet are still needed
The smallest unit of matter is
the
Atom
which is the smallest unit of matter that still maintains the properties of
is composed of smaller subunits called
Subatomic particles
which includes the
proton
,
neutron
, and
electron
of which the
protons
and
neutrons
are tightly bound to form the
atomic nucleus
This number of protons is referred to as the
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The number of protons+neutrons is the
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Atoms of an element with varying numbers of neutrons are called
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The neutron is slightly heavier than the proton 1.009 daltons vs 1.007 daltons
Realistically, electrons are quantum in nature and occupy orbitals with a certain probability. Classically, we say that electrons "orbit" the nucleus in
Electron Shells
which are characterized by their average distance relative to the nucleus. The higher the shell, the greater the energy.
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The
orbitals
are where an electron is found 90% of the time when we take a measurement of its position.
Some atoms have a greater "pull" on the electrons of another atom. This measure of this pull is called
electronegativity
Can bond with other atoms to form
molecules
(see to the right to explore chemical bonding further)
These molecules can have forces between them called
intermolecular forces
Hydrogen bonding
is when the positive partial charge of a Hydrogen atom is attracted to the negative partial charge of another atom. This type of bond is temporary. Ex: H2O has its properties due to this type of bonding.
Van der Waals
interactions are a result of weak temporary dipole-dipole interactions in nonpolar covalent bonded molecules. Individually, they are weak, but they may become strong when acting in concert. Ex: Geckos climbing up glass.
Molecules and atoms can react with each other to make and break bonds in
chemical reactions
The in-going components are called the
reactants
and the out-going components are called the
products
Chemical reactions can theoretically go both ways with some strongly preferring to go only one way spontaneously. In organic chemistry and biochemistry, many of our reactions will go both ways. When there is an equal ratio of going back and forth, we say that the reaction is in
equilibrium