Biochemistry

By: Amber Tharpe

• pH scale goes from 0-14

• A pH of 7 is neutral and an example is water

• Acids have a low pH (less than 7)

• Bases have a high pH (greater than 7)

•Solute- substance that gets dissolved

•Solvent- liquid that dissolves the solute–Found in a greater amount in the solution

Water- We Love You

By: Amber Tharpe

Water is Polar

•Polar- having a slightly positive end and a negative end

•H is a little + and O is a little -

Hydrogen Bonding

• Bond between the partially – O and the partially + H of another water molecule

• Relatively weak bond• Caused by polarity• Drawn by a dotted

line• http://www.northland.cc.mn.us/biology/Biology1111/

animations/hydrogenbonds.html

Cohesion

• Water sticks to itself

• Due to H-bonding

• Reason for surface tension

Adhesion

• Water sticks to something else

• Due to H-bonding

• Reason for meniscus

• Reason for capillary action– Water can go up through

plants roots to their leaves– Blood can move up from

the feet back to the heart

Water is the Universal Solvent

•It dissolves most polar substances–Because water is polar

Why is Carbon so Important?

• Can form 4 covalent bonds–One on each side

–Which produces a lot of complex molecules

Monomer

•The smallest basic unit of a macromolecule

Polymer

•A large molecule (macromolecule) of monomers linked together

4 Macromolecules

1.Carbohydrates

2.Lipids

3.Proteins

4.Nucleic Acids

Carbohydrates

•Commonly know as sugars and starches

•Ex: glucose, fructose, lactose, glycogen

•Primary source of energy

Lipids

• Commonly known as fats, oils, and waxes

• Nonpolar and insoluble• Store energy for long-term and

used for protection and water proofing

• Ex: Fatty acids

Proteins• Contain C, H, O, and N• Amino acid monomers• Linked together with peptide bonds• Proteins fold into specific 3-D structure

–Won’t work properly without this• Used for building structures, regulating

reactions, and transporting materials

Nucleic Acids

• Nucleotide monomers

• Stores genetic information in a code for making proteins

• Ex:–DNA- stores genetic information

–RNA- used to make proteins

Enzymes

•Chemical Reactions

–Breaking and forming new chemical bonds

Chemical Reaction

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O

Reactants Products

• Reactants

–Substances you start with

–The arrow points away from these

• Products

–Substances you end up with

–The arrow points towards these

• Activation energy

–Amount of energy that must be absorbed for a reaction to start

• Catalyst–Substance that speeds up a reaction by decreasing the activation energy without being used up

–Not changed in a reaction

• Enzymes

–Biological catalysts

–are proteins

Why are Enzymes so Important?

• Helps reactions occur fast enough for organisms to maintain homeostasis

• Most are so important we can’t live without them

• Substrate

–Specific reactants that an enzyme binds to and acts on

–Must fit exactly into the enzyme’s active site

–Lock and key- complimentary fit

•The substrate and enzyme have a shape that allows them to fit tightly together to react

•Active site

–Place on an enzyme where the substrate binds

4 Things that affect rxn rates:

1. Temperature

2. pH

3. Concentration of enzyme

4. Concentration of substrate

Temperature

• Increasing temp usually speeds up a reaction, up until a point when the enzyme gets denatured

• Denature

–When certain bonds in a protein break, causing it to lose its 3-D shape

pH

• Enzymes work best at a certain range of pH

• Changing pH too much can cause denaturation

Concentration of enzyme and substrate

• The more enzyme, the more product, until all the substrate is used up

• The more substrate, the more product, until all the enzyme is bound to substrate