BCH3023C Problem Set 1

Due by 1:00 PM Thursday 5/31/12 in 324C DLC

1. The H-C-H bond angle in the perfectly tetrahedral CH4 molecule is 109o. Explain why the H-O-H bond angle in water is only about 104.5o. 2. Explain why H3O+ is the strongest acid that can exist in a biological system. 3. Calculate the pH of the following: a. 5.00 x 10-4 M HCl b. 7.00 x 10-5 M NaOH c. 2 M HCl d. 3 x 10-2 M KOH e. 0.04 mM HCl f. 6 x 10-9 M HCl 4. Calculate the [H+] of the following: a. Vinegar pH = 2.9 b. Saliva pH = 6.6 c. Household Ammonia pH = 11.4 d. Inside a liver cell pH = 6.9 5. Calculate the [OH-] of the following: a. Milk of Magnesia pH = 10.3 b. Beer pH = 4.5 6. The pH of a 0.02 M solution of an acid was measured at 4.6. a. What is the [H+] in this solution? b. Calculate the acid dissociation constant Ka and pKa for this acid. 7. The Ka for formic acid is 1.78 x 10-4 M. a. What is the pH of a 0.1 M solution of formic acid? b. 150 mL of 0.1 M NaOH is added to 200 mL of 0.1 M formic acid, and water is added to make a final volume of 1L. What is the pH of the final solution?

8. Given 0.1 M solutions of acetic acid and sodium acetate, describe the preparation of 1L of 0.1 M acetate buffer at a pH of 5.4. 9. If the internal pH of a muscle cell is 6.8, what is the [HPO42-]/[H2PO4-] ratio in this cell? 10. For each of the 20 common amino acids: a. Draw their Structures b. Highlight any formal groups capable of protonation. c. For each of the groups in part b, look up and label their pKa values. d. Label each structure with both its one letter and 3 letter designation. e. Determine if the amino acid is polar or non-polar and mark it P or NP, respectively. 11. Using appropriate amino acid, draw a disulfide bond structure

12. Draw the following polypeptides and determine their pI a. FINAL b. LIVE