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OF LIFE
Points:
o There are 92 elements that occur in nature.
o Each element has a symbol, the first letter or two of its English,
Latin, or German name.
o Compounds are much more common than pure elements. In fact,
few elements exist in a pure state in nature.
o A compound has characteristics different from those of its
elements. (emergent properties)
o There are about 25 elements that are essential to life.
2.2 Trace elements are common additives to food and water
Points:
o Iron makes up only about 0.004% of your body weight but is
vital for energy processing and for transporting oxygen in
your blood.
o You need to ingest only a tiny amount of Iodine each day, about
0.15 milligram (mg).
o Iodine deficiency causes goiter and is linked to mental
retardation.
Points:
o An atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, and thus
its net electrical charge is 0 (zero).
o Protons and neutrons each have masses close to 1 Dalton.
o An electron has only about 1/2000 the mass of a proton.
o An atoms atomic mass (or weight) is approximately equal to
its mass number the sum of its protons and neutrons.
2.4 Radioactive isotopes can help or harm us
Points:
o Radioactive isotopes are useful as tracers.
o Biologists often use radioactive tracers to follow molecules as
they undergo chemical changes in an organism.
o Radioactive isotopes may also be used to tag chemicals that
accumulate in specific areas of the body.
o They are also used for treatment (e.g. PET Positron-Emission
Tomography Scanner, which is useful for diagnosing certain heart
disorders and cancers and for basic research on the brain)
o The particles and energy thrown off by radioactive atoms can
break chemical bonds and also cause abnormal bonds to form
(nuclear reactor explosion at Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986).
o Radon, a radioactive gas, may be a cause for lung cancer.
2.5 The distribution of electrons determines an atoms chemical properties
Points:
o Only electrons are directly involved in the chemical activity of
an atom.
o The farther an electron is from the positively charged nucleus,
the greater its energy.
o Electrons move around the nucleus only at certain energy levels,
called electron shells.
o Within each shell, electron travel in different orbitals, which are
discrete volumes of space in which electrons are most likely to
be found.
o It is the number of electrons in the outermost shell, called the
valence shell, which determines the chemical properties of
atom.
o Atoms whose outer shells are not full (have unpaired electrons)
tend to interact with other atoms that is, to participate in
chemical reactions.
2.6 Covalent bonds join atoms into molecules through electron sharing
Points:
o The strongest kind of chemical bond is the covalent bond.
o Two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds form a
molecule.
o How man covalent bonds can an atom form? It depends on the
number of additional electrons needed to fill its outer, or valence,
shell.
o The more electronegative an atom is, the more strongly it pulls
shared electrons toward its nucleus.
o Oxygen is one of the most electronegative of the elements.
(Nitrogen is also highly electronegative.)
2.7 Ionic bonds are attractions between ions of opposite charge
Point:
o There is no fixed number of ions.
2.8 Hydrogen bonds are weak bonds important in the chemistry of life
Points:
o Hydrogen bonds between molecules of liquid water last for only
a few trillionths of a second.
o The cohesion of water is important in the living world.
2.11 Waters Life-Supporting Properties: Waters hydrogen bonds moderate
temperature
Points:
Points:
o Waters versatility as a solvent results from the polarity of its
molecules.
o A compound doesnt need to be ionic to dissolve in water.
2.14 The chemistry of life is sensitive to acidic and basic conditions
Points:
o Basic solutions are also called alkaline solutions.
o pH stands for potential of hydrogen.
o The scale ranges from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most basic).
The burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) is among the many
threats to water quality posed by human activities
Acid precipitation refers to rain, snow, or fog with a pH lower
than 5.2 (the pH of uncontaminated rain is 5.6)
Carbon dioxide is the main product of fossil fuel combustion
Ocean acidification CO2 dissolves in seawater lowers ocean pH.
(This is because CO2 reacts with water to produce carbonic acid.)
Calcification the process of producing skeletons or shells by corals
and other organisms.
Points:
o About 25% of human-generated CO2 is absorbed by the oceans.
o In ocean acidification, the change in acidity decreases the
concentration of carbonate ions, which is needed in
calcification.
2.16 The search for extraterrestrial life centers on the search for water
EMERGENT PROPERTIES OF WATER
1. Cohesion
2. Ability to moderate temperature and insulate
3. Versatility as a solvent