Darshan Meghji

Inorganic ions include those of sodium, phosphorus and hydrogen. Describe how these and other inorganic ions are used in living organisms. Ions are vital to the upkeep of everyday life for living organisms. For instance sodium has the role of regulating the blood and body uids through heart activity. Phosphorus is used in conjunction with a sugar to be able to produce DNA. Hydrogen is soluble with all associated chemicals and substances in life and combines easily with elements such as carbon & oxygen. Sodiums use in plants is as a micronutrient (used in small quantities) and one that aids in the metabolism and the synthesis of chlorophyll. The uptake of sodium ions is desirable as it allows the plants to build an osmotic pressure, and thereby absorb water enabling it to sustain turgor. However an excess in uptake can limit the uptake of water due to the decrease in water potential causing the plants to wilt. Sodium in animals is essential in the balance of pH levels in the body and regulating the water levels in the body. It also plays a part in the function of the nerves. Sodium works in conjunction with potassium to balance the bodys water. The sodium potassium pump works by moving the excess sodium out of our cells and potassium into our cells with the help of ATP changing the shape of sodium potassium pump. This movement of sodium in and out of the cell helps maintain the proper volume of the uid in the cell with the change in osmotic pressure. Sodium and chloride outside the cells and potassium inside the cells work together to initiate the nerve impulse conduction that causes muscle contractions such as that caused in the heart through the sinoatrial node. The sodium levels in the body are partly controlled by the hormone, aldosterone which tell the kidneys when to hold sodium in the body and not pass it out as urine The kidneys balance the necessary levels to maintain, within a narrow margin, a normal heart rate. Phosphorus is important to the maintenance of bones and teeth through the combination of it with calcium to form the insoluble calcium phosphate, with calcium preventing the loss of bone density and phosphate giving the bones their hardness, whereas with age the skeletal system acts as a reserve for the use of other bodily cells to make up the decit. It also plays a major part in the process of forming the structural framework for DNA and RNA. Phosphate is also used in the currency of the cells in the form of ATP (Adenine Triphosphate) and ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate). ADP and ATP are essential in energy storage and transfer reactions. They provide the energy required by all biological processes such as respiration which generates ATP from chemiosmosis and photosynthesis, where ATP generated from the light independent reaction provides the energy to convert Glycerate 3-phosphate into triose phosphate where the remainder of the ATP produced in the light dependent reaction is used to regenerate RuBP. ATP is also useful in phosphorylation which is the addition of a phosphate group to a protein or other organic molecule, which turns many enzymes on and off and is important for protein-protein interaction. Hydrogen in its monatomic form is the most abundant chemical substance in the Universe. Plants absorb carbon and oxygen from the air when it takes in carbon dioxide. It consumes hydrogen and oxygen, the two elements that comprise water molecules, through its roots. This is important in photosynthesis as water is is broken apart (photolysis) from the photons of light emitted from the Sun , which replace the electrons lost in Photosystem II.

Darshan Meghji

As hydrogen is readily oxidized it reacts and binds to lots of other elements. Water the main constituent in the human body is made up of two parts, oxygen and hydrogen. Because of hydrogen, the cells are able to remain hydrated, toxins and waste are able to be eliminated from the body, nutrients are able to be transported to the cells that need them and your joints are able to be lubricated. Hydrogen is also an important part in respiration , when glucose is broken is broken down eventually leaving you with Acetyl CoA during the link reaction, which in turn is broken down into hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. The hydrogen ions are then transported to the mitochondria which uses the hydrogen to create ATP during oxidative phosphorylation. Without hydrogen you have no water, and without water, there is no life