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A Chemicol
defend them
$ ike other animals, ants have structures and mechanisms that
or thousands, and the col-
Lfrorn attack. Wood ants live in colonies of hundreds
with enemies.
ony as a whole has a particularly effective mechanism for dealing
air from their
Wiren threatened, the ants shoot volleys of formic acid into the
upon the potential invaders (Figure 2'1)' This
abdomens, and the acid rains down
and in fact got its name from the
substanceis produced by many speciesof ants
formic acid isn't shot
Latin word {or ant,formica.Eor quite a few ant species,the
ants againstmicrobial
out, but probably servesas a disinfectant that protects the
parasites.Scientistshave long known that chemicals play a major role in insect
against predators.
communication, the attraction of mates, and defense
relevant chemistry
Researchon ants and other insects is a good example of how
packaged into
is to the study of life. Unlike college courses, nature is not neatly
physics, and so forth. Biologists specialize
individual sciences-biology, chemistry,
are natural systems to
in the study of life, but organisms and their environments
is multidisciplinary'
which the concepts of chemistry and physics apply' Biology
introduces some basic concepts of chemistry that apply to
This unit of chapters
to cells, we will cross
the study of life. Somewhere in the transition from molecules
chapter focuses on the chemical
the blurry boundary between nonlife and life. This
components that make up all matter'
C O N CEPT
2,"I TheElements
of Life
Of the 92 natural elements, about 20-25% are essential
Mofter
consists elements
ofchemicol in elements that an organism needs to live a healthy life and
pure
formondincombinotions
colled reproduce. The essentialelements are similar among organ-
isms, but there is some variation-for example, humans
compounds need 25 elements,but plants need only 17.
Organismsare composed of matter, which is anything that fust four elements-oxygen (O), carbon (C), hydrogen
takesup spaceand has mass.oMatter exists in many forms. (H), and nitrogen (N)-make up 96% of living matter. Cal-
Rocks,metals,oils, gases,and living organisms are a few ex- cium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (I(), sulfur (S), and a
amplesof what seemsto be an endlessassortment of matter. few other elements account for most of the remaining4o/o
of an organism's mass.Trace elements are required by an
Elements
ondCompounds organism in only minute quantities. Some trace elements,
such as iron (Fe),are needed by all forms of life; others are
Matteris made up of elements. An element is a substance
required only by certain species.For example, in vertebrates
thatcannotbe broken down to other substancesby chemi-
(animals with backbones),the element iodine (I) is an es-
calreactions.Today, chemists recognize 92 elements oc-
sential ingredient of a hormone produced by the thyroid
curringin nature; gold, copper, carbon, and oxygen are
gland. A daily intake of only 0.15 milligram (mg) of iodine is
examples. Each element has a symbol, usually the first letter
adequatefor normal activity of the human thyroid. An io-
or two of its name. Some symbols are derived from Latin or
dine deficiency in the diet causesthe thyroid gland to grow
German;for instance, the symbol for sodium is Na, from the
to abnormal size, a condition called goiter.'Where it is avail-
Latinword natrium.
able, eating seafoodor iodized salt reduces the incidence of
A compound is a substanceconsisting of two or more
goiter. All the elements needed by the human body are listed
differentelementscombined in a fixed ratio. Table salt, for
in Table 2.1.
example, is sodium chloride (NaCl), a compound composed
Some naturally occurring elements are toxic to organ-
of the elementssodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) in a 1:1 ratio.
isms. In humans, for instance,the element arsenic has been
Puresodium is a metal, and pure chlorine is a poisonous gas,
linked to numerous diseasesand can be lethal. In some areas
Whenchemicallycombined, however, sodium and chlorine
of the world, arsenic occurs naturally and can make its way
forman ediblecompound. Water (HrO), another com-
into the groundwater. As a result of using water from drilled
pound,consistsof the elements hydrogen (H) and oxygen
(O)in a 2:1 ratio. These are simple examples of organized
matterhaving emergent properties: A compound has char-
acteristicsdifferent from those of its elements (Figure 2.2).
Percentageof Body Mass
I Element sY'*l (includingwater)
Oxygen o 65.0%
-m
Carbon 18.5%
96.3o/o
Hydrogen H 9.5o/o
)iTe:: N 3.3%
Calcium 1.5%
Phosphorus P 1.0%
Potassium K 0.4o/o
Sodium Na 0.2%
I Figure2.2 The emergentpropertiesof a compound.The
metal sodium with the poisonous
combines gaschlorine,
formingthe Chlorine cl 0.2%
e d i bco
l e m pound
s odiumc hl o ri d eo,r ta b l es a l t.
Magnesium Mg 0.1o/o
*lneverydaylanguagewe tend to substitute the term weight for mass, al- : Traceel ements(l essthan 0.0.]%of mass):B oron(B ),chromi um(C r),c obal t
: (C o),copper(C u),fl uori ne (F),i odi ne(l ), i ron (Fe),manganes e(Mn), mol y b-
thoughthe two are not identical. Mass is the amount of matter in an object,
: denum (Mo),sel eni um(S e),si l i con(S i ),ti n (5n),vanadi um(V),z i nc (Zn)
whereasthe weight of an object is how strongly that mass is pulled by grav-
iry Theweight of an astronaut walking on the moon is approximately 7othe
weight on Earth, but his or her mass is the same. However, as long
astronaut's @ Givenwhat you know about the human
asweareearthbound, the weight of an object is a measure of its mass; in ev- body, what do you think could account for the high percentageof oxy-
erydaylanguage, therefore,we tend to use the terms infglshpnocrhh, gen (65.0%)?
I @ Ex ploinhowt obles o l t h o s
##
emergeni properfies.(See Concept I.1 )
2. ls o troce element on essentiolelement? Exploin.
2
EEffiffi ln humons, iron is o troce element required (a) Thismodelrepresentsthe ( b ) I n t h i s m o r esi m p l i fi e dm o d e l ,
for the proper functioning of hemoglobin, the molecule asa cloudof
two electrons the electronsare shown
thot corries oxygen in red blood cells.Whot might be the negativecharge. as two smallyellowspheres
effects of on iron deficiencY? o n a ci r cl ea r o u n dth e n u cl e u s
4 @ Exploinhow noturolselection A Figure 2.4 Simplifiedmodelsof a helium(He)atom.The
might hove ployedo rolein the evolutionof speciesihot heliumnucleus (brown)and2 protons
o{ 2 neutrons
consists (pink)
ore tolerontof serpentinesoils.(ReviewConcept 1.2) Twoelectrons (yellow) the nucleus.
existoutside Thesemodels arenot
theygreatly
to scale; overestimate to
in relation
the sizeof the nucleus
F o r su g g e ste d o n swe r s,see A ppendi x A
cloud.
the electron
f t5iil?il".
l energylevel)
by temperature, pressure' or any other environmental vari-
able. Using a process called radiometric dating, scientists I
measure the ratio of different isotopes and calculate how l
Firstshell(lowestenergY
many half-lives (in years) have passedsince an organism was l level) t"'td
fossilized or a rock was formed. Half-life values range from
very short for some isotopes,measured in secondsor days' l ,,#
Atomrc
to extremely long-uranium-238 has a half-life of 4'5 billion i nucl eus "*ffis#
yearsl Each isotope can best "measure" a particular range of
years:Uranium 238 was used to determine that moon rocks ' (b) An electroncan movefrom one shellto anotheronly if the.energy
i
are approxim ately4.5 billion years old, similar to the esti- it gainsor losesis exactlyequalto the differencein energybetween
th6 energylevelsof the iwo shells.Arrowsin this modelindicate
mated age of Earth' In the Scientific Skills Exercise'you can l
someof ihe stepwisechanqesin potentialenergythat arepossible
work with data from an experiment that used carbon-l4 to :
determine the age of an important fossil' (You'll learn more A Figure 2.6 Energy levels of an atom's electrons' Electrons
exist6nly at fixed levelsof potentialenergycalledelectronshells'
about radiometric dating of fossils in Chapter 25')
charged electrons are attracted to the positively charged Similarly, an electron's potential energy is determined by its
nucleus. It takes work to move a given electron farther away energy level. An electron can exist only at certain energy lev-
from the nucleus, so the more distant an electron is from the els, not between thenr.
nucleus, the greater its potential energy. Unlike the continu- An electron's energy level is correlated with its average
ous flow of water downhill, changes in the potential energy distance from the nucleus. Electrons are found in different
of electrons can occur only in steps of fixed amounts. An electron shells, each with a characteristic average distance
electron having a certain amount of energy is something like and energy level. In diagrams, shells can be represented by
a ball on a staircase (Figure 2.Ga). The ball can have differ- concentric circles (Figure 2.6b). The first shell is closest to the
ent amounts of potential energy, depending on which step nucleus, and electrons in this shell have the lowest potential
it is on, but it cannot spend much time between the steps. energy. Electrons in the second shell have more energy, and
l--"-----'"--'"
f--'"'-::-*''-l
Helium
I Atomic number---.
Hydr ogen --t--.-tHe
t 1H ; ::.-
1 ?/
I Atomrcmass Elementsymbol/
:-. o \-)
frrst i
Etectron--l-
I
:
i
s hell
o distribution ;
diagram i
O
O OO OO
io10;"] ^
,r
oo oo oo oo
oo oo
periodictable are helium, neon, and argon, the only three I v l-!t' 'f
|.a:-!
elementsshown in Figure 2.7 that have full valence shells.
Theseelementsare said tobe inert, meaning chemically
unreactive.All the other atoms in Figure 2.7 ate chemically z
reactivebecausethey have incomplete valence shells. 2s orbitai Three2p orbitals
C H A P T E R2 T h e C h e m i c a l C o n te xto fL i fe 35
Hvdroqenatoms(2 H)
CONCEPT CHECK 2. 2
'| . A lithium otom hos 3 protons ond 4 neutrons Whot is iis Q In eachhydroqen.
atom, the singleelectron
moss number? is held in its orbitalbY @ @
hos 7 proions' ond.the most common its attractionto the
- A nitrogen otom
2.
isotope proton In the nucleus.
itotopJof nitrogen hos 7 neutrons A rodiooctive
Write the otomic number ono
of niirogen hos B neutrons
o chemicol
moss n"umberof this rodiooctive nitrogen os
I
depend between
bonding
onchemicol
molecule.
0t0ms -ll.1l,l3i[,,
atoms' we can I Figure 2'9 Formationof a covalentbond'
Now that we have looked at the structure of
how atoms
move up the hierarchy of organization and see
Atoms electrons'
combine to form molecules and ionic compounds' the line representsa single bond, a pair of shared
can interact with certain to rePresenting the
with incomplete valence shells A space-fiiling model comes closest
completes its familiar with
other atoms in such a way that each partner actual shape of the molecule' You may also be
valence 2'15'
valence shell: The atoms either share or transfer ball-and-siick models, which are shown in Figure
usually result in atoms staying in its second electron shell and
electrons. These interactions Oxygen has 6 electrons
called chemical bonds' complete its valence
close together, held by attractions therefore needs 2 more electrons to
bonds fwo
The strJngest kinds of chemical bonds are covalent shell. Two oxygen atoms form a molecule by sharing
are
and ionic bonds (when in dry ionic compounds)' pairs of valenceelectrons(Figure 2'10b)' The atoms
a double bond (O:O)'
ihus joined by what is called
Bonds a bonding
Covqlent Each atom that can share valence electrons has
bonds the
electrons capacity corresponding to the number of covalent
A covalent bond is the sharing of a pair of valence give the atom
what happens atom can form. W'hen the bonds form, they
by two atoms. For example, let's consider in the valence shell' The
Recall a full complement of electrons
when two hydrogen atoms approach each other' is 2' This bond-
electron in the first shell' but bonding capacity of oxygen, for example'
that hydrogen has 1 valence equals
When the two hydrogen ing caplcity is called the atom's valence and usually
the shell's capacity is 2 electrons' complete the
to overlap' the number of unpaired electrons required to
atoms come close enough for their 1s orbitals shell' See if you can determine
Each hydrogen atom's outermost (valence)
they can share their electrons (Figure 2'9)' and carbon by
with 2 electrons in what amounts to the valencesofhydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen'
atom is now associated 2'7'
more atoms held together studying the electron distribution diagrams inEigute
a completed valence shell' Two or oxygen' 2;
this case a hy- You can seethat the valence ofhydrogen is 1;
by covalent bonds constitute a molecule' in However, the situation is more
nitrogen, 3; and carbon, 4.
drogen molecule. row of the periodic
a hydro- comflicated for elements in the third
rlgtr. 2.1oa shows severalways of representing valence of 3' as
Hr, simply indicates table. lhosphorus, for example, can have a
gen molecul e.Its molecularformwla, electrons
hydrogen. EIec- we would predict from the presenceof 3 unpaired
Inat tne molecule consists of two atoms of that are biologically
distribution dia- in its valence shell. ln some molecules
tron sharing can be depicted by an electron single
symbols important, however, phosphorus can form three
gram or by a fewis d'ot structure' in which element
the valence electrons U or" rarandonedoubl ebond' Theref or e'it canalsohavea
Ir" ,rrr.orrrrded by dots that represent
valence of 5.
(H: H). 'We can also use a structuralformula' H-H' where
(b)Oxygen(o2). H zo
Twooxygen atoms A Figure 2.11 Polarcovalentbondsin a water molecule.
share two pairsof
electrons,forming
a d o u ble
bond.
itself. In a covalent bond between two atoms of the same
element, the electrons are shared equally becausethe two
(c)Water (HzO).
Twohydrogen atoms have the same electronegativity-the tug-of,war is at
atomsand one a standoff. Such a bond is called a nonpolar covalent bond.
oxygenatom are For example, the single bond of H, is nonpolar, as is the
loinedby sing le
bonds,forminga o-H double bond of Or. However, when an atom is bonded to a
moleculeof water I more electronegativeatom, the electrons of the bond are not
n
shared equally. This type of bond is called a polar covalent
bond. Such bonds vary in their polarity, depending on the
(d)Methane(CH/.
Fourhydrogen H relative electronegativity of the two atoms. For example,the
.+^*.
oLUilr) LdrrJoLt>ty
--^.-+;-{., H: C: H bonds between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of a water
thevalence
of n moleculeare quite polar (Figure 2.11).
onecarbon
atom,forming n Oxygen is one of the most electronegativeelements,at-
methane. I tracting shared electrons much more strongly than hydro-
H- C- H
I gen does. In a covalent bond between oxygen and hydrogen,
H
the electrons spend more time near the oxygen nucleus than
they do near the hydrogen nucleus. Becauseelectrons have
I Figure2.10 Covalentbondingin four molecules. Thenumber a negative charge and are pulled toward oxygen in a water
ofelectrons
required
to complete an atoms valence
shellgenerally
determines
howmanycovalent bondsthatatomwillform.Thisfigure molecule, the oxygen atom has a partial negative charge (in-
showsseveral
waysof indicating
covalentbonds. dicated by the Greek letter 6 with a minus sign, 6-, or "delta
minus"), and each hydrogen atom has a partial positive
charge (6*, or "delta plus"). In contrast, the individual bonds
The moleculesH, and 02 are pure elements rather than
of methane (CHn) are much lesspolar becausethe electro,
compoundsbecausea compound is a combination of two or
negativities of carbon and hydrogen are similar.
moredffirenl elements. W'ater, with the molecular formula
HrO,is a compound. Two atoms of hydrogen are needed to
satisf,t the valence of one oxygen atom. Figure 2.1Ocshows lonicBonds
thestructureof a water molecule. (Water is so important In some cases,two atoms are so unequal in their attraction
to life that Chapter 3 is devoted entirely to its structure and for valence electrons that the more electronegativeatom
behavior.) strips an electron completely away from its partner. The
Methane,the main component of natural gas,is a com- two resulting oppositely charged atoms (or molecules) are
poundwith the molecular formula CH4. It takes four hy- called ions. A positively charged ion is called a cation, while
drogenatoms, each with a valence of 1, to complement one a negatively charged ion is called an anion. Becauseof their
atomof carbon,with its valenceof 4 (rigure 2.10d). (We opposite charges,cations and anions attract each other; this
willlook at many other compounds of carbon in Chapter 4.) attraction is called an ionic bond. Note that the transfer of
Atoms in a molecule attract shared bonding electrons to an electron is not, by itsell the formation of a bond; rather,
varyingdegrees,depending on the element. The attraction it allows a bond to form becauseit results in two ions of op-
ofa particular atom for the electrons of a covalent bond is posite charge.Any two ions of opposite charge can form an
calledits electronegativity. The more electronegativean ionic bond. The ions do not need to have acquired their
atomis, the more strongly it pulls shared electrons toward charge by an electron transfer with each other.
C H A P T E R2 T h e C h e m i c a l C o n t e xto fL i fe 37
@ rhe lon e va lenc e elec t r on of a s odium Q E a c hr e s u l t i n g i o n h a s a c o m p l e t e d
a three-dimensional lattice. Unlike a
a tom is tra nsfer r ed t o join t he 7 v alenc e v a l e n c es h e l l .A n i o n i c b o n d c a n f o r m covalent compound, which consistsof
e lectron so f a c hlor ine at om . b e t w e e n t h e o p p o s i t e l yc h a r g e d i o n s .
molecules having a definite size and
number of atoms, an ionic compound
does not consist of molecules.The
formula for an ionic compound, such
as NaCl, indicates only the ratio of ele-
3@3 ments in a crystal of the salt. "NaCl" by
oo itself is not a molecule.
Not all salts have equal numbers of
Na cl Na* cl- cations and anions. For example,the
Sod iumato m Chlor ineat om S o d i u mi o n i on
C hl ori de
(a cation) (anani on) ionic compound magnesium chloride
(MgClr) has two chloride ions for each
S o d i u mc h l o r i d e( N a C l ) magnesium ion. Magnesium (rrMg)
must lose 2 outer electrons if the atom
A Figure 2.12 Electron transfer and ionic bonding. The attractionbetweenoppositelycharged
atoms,or ions,is an ionicbond. An ionicbond can form betweenany two oppositelychargedions, is to have a complete valenceshell,so
even if they havenot beenformed by transferof an electronfrom one to the other. it has a tendency to become a cation
with a net charge of 2+ (Mg2+).One
This is what happens when an atom of sodium (rtNa) magnesium cation can therefore form ionic bonds with two
encountersan atom of chlorine (trCl) (rigure 2.12).A so- chloride anions (Cl ).
dium atom has a total of 11 electrons, with its single valence The term ion also applies to entire molecules that
electron in the third electron shell. A chlorine atom has a are electrically charged.In the salt ammonium chloride
total of 17 electrons, withT electrons in its valence shell. (NH4CI), for instance,the anion is a single chloride ion (Cl ),
W'hen these two atoms meet, the lone valence electron of but the cation is ammonium (NHn*), a nitrogen atom cova-
sodium is transferred to the chlorine atom, and both atoms lently bonded to four hydrogen atoms. The whole ammo-
end up with their valence shells complete. (Becausesodium nium ion has an electrical charge of 1* becauseit has given
no longer has an electron in the third shell, the second shell up 1 electron and thus is I electron short.
is now the valence shell.) The electron transfer between the Environment affects the strength of ionic bonds. In a dry
two atoms moves one unit of negative charge from sodium salt crystal, the bonds are so strong that it takes a hammer
to chlorine. Sodium, now with 11 protons but only 10 elec- and chisel to break enough ofthem to crack the crystal in
trons, has a net electrical charge of 1*; the sodium atom two. If the same salt crystal is dissolvedin water, however,
has become a cation. Conversely,the chlorine atom, having the ionic bonds are much weaker becauseeach ion is par-
gained an extra electron, now has 17 protons and 18 elec- tially shielded by its interactions with water molecules.Most
trons, giving it a net electrical charge of 1-; it has become a drugs are manufactured as salts becausethey are quite stable
chloride ion-an aniorr. when dry but can dissociate (come apart) easilyin water, (In
Compounds formed by ionic bonds are called ionic the next chapter, you will learn how water dissolvessalts.)
compounds, or salts. W'e know the ionic compound sodium
chloride (NaCl) as table salt (Figure 2.13). Saltsare often
found in nature as crystals of
WeokChemicol
Bonds
various sizesand shapes.Each In organisms, most of the strongest chemical bonds are co-
salt crystal is an aggregateof valent bonds, which link atoms to form a cell's molecules.
vast numbers of cations and But weaker bonding within and between molecules is also
anions bonded by their electri- indispensable,contributing greatly to the emergent proper-
cal attraction and arranged in ties of life. Many large biological molecules are held in their
functional form by weak bonds. In addition, when two mol-
eculesin the cell make contact, they may adhere temporarily
by weak bonds. The reversibility of weak bonding can be an
advantage:Two molecules can come together, respond to
A Figu re 2 .13 A s odium one another in some way, and then separate.
chloride (NaCl)crystal. The Severaltypes of weak chemical bonds are important in
sod iumion s(Na ")and c hlor ide organisms. One is the ionic bond as it exists between ions
ions(Cl-)are held togetherby ionic
bo nd s.The fo rmulaNaClt ellsus ciissociatedin water, which we just discussed.Hydrogen
that the ratio of Na* to Cl- is 1:1. bonds and van der W'aalsinteractions are also crucial to life,
A Fi gur e2. 14
Moleculor
Shope
ondFunction
A hydrogen bond. A molecule has a characteristic size and precise shape,
@Sfr (usestructuralformulas;show
Drawfivewater molecules. which are crucial to its function in the living cell. A mol-
partial
charges.)
Showhow theymakehydrogenbondswith eachother. ecule consisting of two atoms, such as H2or C.2,is always
linear, but most molecules with more than two atoms have
Hydrogen
Bonds more complicated shapes.These shapesare determined by
the positionsof the atoms'orbitals (Figure 2.15).When an
Amongweakchemical bonds, hydrogen bonds are so central
to the chemistry of life that they deserve special attention.
'ffhen a hydrogen atom is covalently bonded to an electro- Fourhybrid
orbitals
negativeatom, the hydrogen atom has a partial positive Threep orbitals
chargethat allows it to be attracted to a different electronega-
/\
tiveatom nearby. This attraction between a hydrogen and
/t\
\Z
anelectronegativeatom is called a hydrogen bond. In living
cells,the electronegativepartners are usually oxygen or nitro-
genatoms.Referto Figure 2.14 to examine the simple caseof
hydrogenbonding between water (HrO) and ammonia (NH). Tetrahedron
(a) Hybridizationof orbitals.Thesingles andthreep orbitals
of a
valenceshellinvolvedin covalent
bondingcombine to formfour
Von
derWoals
lnteroctions teardrop-shapedhybridorbitals.
Theseorbitalsextendto thefour
Evena moleculewith nonpolar covalent bonds may have cornersof an imaginary (outlined
tetrahedron in pink).
positivelyand negatively charged regions. Electrons are not
always evenlydistributed; at any instant, they may accumulate Space-Filling Ball-and-Stick Hybrid-Orbital
Model
bychancein one part of a molecule or another. The results Model Model (withball-and-stick
modelsuperimposed)
areever-changingregions ofpositive and negative charge
thatenableall atoms and molecules to stick to one another. U n b o n d ed
Thesevan der Waals interactions are individually weak electron
andoccuronly when atoms and molecules are very close to- parr
s
anatomy of the gecko's foot-including many minuscule hair,
likeprojectionsfrom the toes and strong tendons underlying
theskin-strikes a balance between maximum surface con-
tactwith the wall and necessarystiffness of the foot. The van
der Waals interactions between the
foot molecules and the molecules Methane (CHq)
of the wall's surface are so
numerous that despite (b) Molecular-shape models.Threemodelsrepresenting
molecular
their individual shapeareshownfor waterandmethane. Thepositions
of the
hybridorbitals
determine
the shapes
of the molecules.
weakness,together
they can support the A Figure 2.15 Molecularshapesdue to hybridorbitals.
The raw materials of photosynthesis are carbon dioxide fi fxpbin how thisphotorelates to the reactants
andproducts in the
(CO), which is taken from the air, and water (HrO), which equationfor photosynthesisgivenin thetext.(youwill learnmoreabout
photosynthesisin ChapterI 0.)
is absorbedfrom the soil. Within the plant cells, sunlight
powersthe conversion ofthese ingredients to a sugar called
giucose(C6H12O6) and oxygen molecules (Or), a by-product
reactants and products are equal in concentration, but only
thatthe plant releasesinto the surroundings (Figure 2.17).
that their concentrations have stabilized at a particular ratio.
Althoughphotosynthesis is actually a sequenceof many
The reaction involving ammonia reachesequilibrium when
chemicalreactions,we still end up with the same number
ammonia decomposesas rapidly as it forms. In some chemi-
andtypesof atoms that we had when we started. Matter has
cal reactions, the equilibrium point may lie so far to the
simplybeen rearranged, with an input of energy provided by
right that these reactions go essentiallyto completion; that
sunlight.
is, virtually all the reactants are converted to products.
All chemical reactions are reversible,with the products of
We will return to the subject of chemical reactions after
theforward reaction becoming the reactants for the reverse
more detailed study of the various types of molecules that
reaction.For example, hydrogen and nitrogen molecules can
are important to life. In the next chapter, we focus on water,
combineto form ammonia, but ammonia can also decom-
the substancein which all the chemical processesof organ,
poseto regeneratehydrogen and nitrogen:
isms occur.
3H 2 + N r= 2 N H 3
'@
o---.
o transfer RR
oo formsions
from your need for calcium or phosphorus? X
s@3 ---.+ ^
; e9
e g t e T ' q ,? oo
properties
Anelemenl's depend of ilsoloms
onlheslruclure Na* cf
Na cl
(pp.30-36) Sodium atorn C hl onne atom S odi umi on
(a cation) (ananion)
i on
C hl ori de
2 .3
"o *"r r r
depend
of molecules
0ndfunclion
Theformotion on
bonding
chemicol belweenoloms(pp.36-40) l - E 1 l E L '! ; K N O WL E D G E / C O M F REH TN SION
interact and complete their 1. In the term trace element, the adjective trace r,:'eansthat
" Chemical bonds form when atoms
valence shells. Covalent bonds form when pairs ofelectrons are a. the element is required in very small amounts.
shared. b. the element can be used as a label to trace atoms through
an organism's metabolism.
H. + H. - - ---> H :H :o.*.o: ------>o::o c . the element is very rare on Earth.
Double d. the element enhances health but is not essential for the or-
Sin g le
covalent bond covalent bond ganism'slong-term survival.