Molecular Basis of Life

Molecules
• Smallest particle in a chemical
element or compound that has the
chemical properties of that element
or compound
• Element - Are substances that cannot
be broken down into other substances
with different properties
• Simplest form
• Compound - Combination of elements

• Made up of atoms
 Atoms
• John Dalton developed
atomic theory (early
1800s)
• An atom is the smallest
part of an element that
displays the property of
that element

http://sites.estvideo.net/college.anne.fr/dossier2/pages2/pages_copains_d_albert/
page11_dalton_jordan.htm
Three (3) subatomic
particles
1. Proton – positively charged
particle
2. Neutron – uncharged
particle
•Both in the nucleus
3. Electron – negatively
charged particle
•On the electron shell

http://www.meta-synthesis.com/webbook/34_qn/qn_to_pt.html
 Nucleus
• Core of the atom
• Atomic number – protons in
the atom
– Size of the atom

• Mass number- protons and

neutrons in the atom
http://www.shimadzu.com/an/gcms/support/fundamentals/mass_number_isotope.html
 Electrons
• Neils Bohr – visualize the position of electrons
in the atom
• Found in the electron shell around the nucleus
• Number of electrons in the last electron shell
(valence shell) determines if the atom gives,
accepts or shares it's electrons
– electron shells follow the octet rule
What is the Octet Rule?
• Atoms are stable when combined to form 8 electrons in their last
electron shell
• Atoms inherently having 8 electrons in their valence shell are non
reactive
• Noble gases
• Atoms follow the octet rule with the exception of hydrogen and
helium
 To visualize...

http://socratic.org/questions/why-are-noble-gases-monatomic-if-they-are
For Biology, the Elements of Most
Importance are...
• Carbon
•
•
•
•
•
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Phosphorous
Sulfur
95%
CHNOPS
 http://www.slideserve.com/corina/diversity-of-living-things

Organically important chemical

combinations
Carbohydrate Nucleic Acid

https://biochemikages005.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/carbo
hydrates/

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Principles_of_Biochemistry/Nucleic_a
cid_I:_DNA_and_its_nucleotides
Proteins Lipids

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/venom/protein-art
https://biochem4you.wordpress.com/tag/phospholipids/
These are achieved thru chemical bonding
 Chemical Bonding
• Molecule/compound
– A combination of 2 or more different elements that retains its
chemical properties

Element Hydrogen Oxygen Water

Boiling point (oC) -252.87 -183 100
Melting point (oC) -259.14 -219 0

• In biology the term molecule is mostly used

 Chemical Bonding...
• Chemical formula – the number of each atoms in a molecule
• H2O

http://www.britannica.com/science/covalent-bond/images-videos/Polar-covalent-bond-In-polar-covalent-bonds-such-as-that/92140

• Two types of chemical bonding

• Ionic
• Covalent
 Ionic Bonding
• What are ions?
– Charged particles
• Transfer of electrons by giving or accepting.

How are particles charged?

Based on the number of electrons and protons

http://sciencenotes.org/hd-periodic-table-wallpaper-muted-colors-2015/
To Visualize Ionic bonding

https://prezi.com/toserkydr7ez/chemical-bonding/
 Continuation of Ionic Binding…
• Salts are solid substances that exists as
individual ions in water

http://www.ck12.org/user:cwake4433/book/Mr.-Wake's-Physical-Science/section/3.46/
 Salt Harvesting

http://davidlansing.com/2009/07/page/3/
 Covalent Bonding
• Co-together and valens-strength
• Sharing of electrons
– Happens in pairs

https://chemistryfall2009.wikispaces.com/Covalent+bonding
 Continuation of Covalent Bond…
• The more electrons shared the stronger the
chemical bond of the atoms

https://classes.lt.unt.edu/Fall_2010/CECS_5030_026/mrp0113/Covalent%20Bonding%20Project%20Page.htm
 Two Types of Covalent Bonds
Polar Non-Polar

http://www.britannica.com/science/covalent-bond/images- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covalent_bond
videos/Polar-covalent-bond-In-polar-covalent-bonds-such-as-that/92140
The Chemistry of Biology
• The stuff of life: carbon
• Molecules that have primarily hydrogen and carbon atoms are said
to be organic
• Only C and H - Hydrocarbons
• CH2O - Carbohydrate

http://burnanenergyjournal.com/tag/hydrocarbons/ http://chemistry.tutorvista.com/organic-chemistry/disaccharides.html
The Chemistry of Biology
• Carbon’s importance to life arises from its versatile bonding
behavior
• Carbon has four vacancies
• Many organic molecules have a backbone: a chain of carbon atoms

https://reviseblog.wordpress.com/page/8/
http://spmchemistry.onlinetuition.com.my/2013/01/carbon.html
Assembles to a Variety of
Compounds

• Functional group
• An atom (other than
hydrogen) or small molecular
group bonded to a carbon of
an organic compound
• Imparts a specific chemical
property
To make things easier to understand...

• Biological molecules are often

modeled to reduce some
complexity
Metabolic Reactions
The details of those molecules differ among organisms
All biological systems are based on the same
organic molecules
Carbohydrate Fatty Acids

https://biochemikages005.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/carbohydrates/ https://biochem4you.wordpress.com/tag/phospholipids/
All biological systems are based on the same
organic molecules
Amino acids Nucleotides

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/venom/protein-art

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Principles_of_Biochemistry/Nucleic_acid
_I:_DNA_and_its_nucleotides
 These 4 are monomers: subunits
of larger molecules
when monomers join...
Polymers
• Consist of multiple monomers
• Cells build polymers from
monomers, and break down
polymers to release monomers
• These processes of molecular
change are called chemical
reactions
• Metabolism: chemical reactions
by which cells acquire and use
energy http://slideplayer.com/slide/273456/

• Enzyme: organic molecule that

speeds up a reaction without
being changed by it
Enzymatic Reaction

http://ejdio.weebly.com/enzymes.html
These chemical reactions may be...
• Hydrolysis: chemical reaction in
which an enzyme uses water to
break a molecule into smaller
subunits
• Condensation: chemical reaction
in which an enzyme builds a
large molecule from smaller
subunits
• Water is formed during
condensation