Chemistry (151)

1) Atoms and Elements - What is an atom? - the smallest particle of a chemical element that can take part in a chemical reaction without being permanently changed - all matter is made up of atoms - all atoms are made up of three different subatomic particles a) protons: have a + charge in the nucleus (center) b) neutrons: no charge c) electrons: have a charge } in a cloud around the center - the # of protons determines the type of atom, or element - proton and e- number =, but neutron number can differ - these are called isotopes of the same element - hydrogen can have 0, 1 or 2 neutrons - the protons are still, but e- move, being kept in an orbit around the nucleus by mutual attraction - only a certain # of e- can occupy the same orbital shell, because they also repel each other - # of e- in each shell for most biologically important atoms are as follows: 1st 2, 2nd 8, 3rd 8 - IMPORTANT: atoms prefer having full shells! - the Periodic Table documents element properties 2) Molecules and Bonding - What is a molecule? - 2 or more atoms held together in a single unit - if two atoms differ, then it is called a compound - molecules are often described with a chemical formula - the letter = element symbol (Table), the number = # present - water H2O, table salt NaCl, glucose C6H12O6 - formulas can also show arrangements of atoms - methanol CH3OH, not CH4O because OH group is important - How are atoms held together in molecules? - they form chemical bonds - bonds are the result of atoms attempting to achieve full orbital shells - there are two major types of chemical bonds a) Ionic bond: e- shift from one atom to another (NaCl)

- Na has only one e- in a shell for 8 - Cl has 7, missing one more for a complete shell - Na gives up its e- to Cl, resulting in full shells for both - once e- move, the charge of the atom changes (now called an ion) - Na becomes +, while Cl becomes - ions are then attracted to each other and bond via electrostatic interaction (like magnets) - these bonds occur mostly between atoms w/ extremes in orbitals b) Covalent bond: e- are shared between two atoms - serve the same purpose, to fill orbital shells - you can determine how many covalent bonds an atom prefers to make by finding out how many e- it needs to fill a shell - H needs one, O needs two, C needs 4 - sharing of more than one e- creates double and triple bonds - what would CO2 look like? - covalent bonds are prevalent and strong - e- sharing is not always even though - What happens if e- sharing is not equal? - e- can cluster to one end of the molecule - What can cause unequal sharing? - greater pull by one atoms nucleus over another - asymmetrical bonding - What is the result? - slight charge differentials over the molecule can arise, called the polarity (although overall charge is still neutral) - if sharing is equal, the molecule is non-polar - Examples: methane (CH4) and water (H2O) - therefore, these unlike charges can attract one another - called hydrogen bonds - polarity of water gives it some important characteristics - water is cohesive - it has a large heat capacity, and does not change temperature easily - it has a low density as a solid - this allows ice to float. - polarity of water also allows it to dissolve other polar molecules, making it a very good solvent

- this is a chemical in which other chemicals (called solutes) dissolve - solute and solvent together form a solution (aqueous in the case of water) - non-polar molecules do not dissolve - therefore, polar molecules are called hydrophilic, and non-polar molecules are called hydrophobic - Why is waters ability to dissolve molecules important? - molecules must be isolated from each other in order to interact with other molecules in chemical reactions - chemical reactions are the basis of metabolism - therefore, most molecules must be dissolved in water to participate in chemical reactions