Date: 09-16-21

CHAPTER 2: The Chemical Basis of

Life
(Human Anatomy and Physiology)

❗ Biochemistry: Essentials for Life ❗ Important Inorganic Compounds

 Water

 Most abundant inorganic compounds

 Vital properties

 High heat capacity

 Polarity/solvent properties

 Chemical reactivity

 Cushioning

 Salts

 Easily dissociate into ions in the presence

of water

 Vital to many body functions

 Organic compounds  Include electrolytes which conduct
electrical currents
 Contain carbon
 Acids
 Most are covalently bonded
 Release hydrogen ions (H+)
 Includes carbohydrates, lipids, proteins,
nucleic acids  Are proton donor
 Inorganic compounds  Bases
 Lack carbon  Release hydroxyl ions (OH-)
 Tend to be simpler compounds  Are proton acceptors
 Includes water, salts and some acids and  Neutralization reaction
bases
 Acids and bases react to form water and
a salt

❗ pH
 Measures relative concentration of hydrogen
ions
 pH 7 = neutral
 pH below 7 = acidic
 pH above 7 = basic
 Buffers - chemicals that can regulate pH
change
❗ Important Organic Compounds
 Proteins
 Carbohydrates
 Contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
 Include sugars and starches
 Classified according to size
 Monosaccharides - simple sugars
 Disaccharides - two simple sugars
joined by dehydration synthesis
 Polysaccharidess - long-branching
chains of linked simple sugars
 Lipids
 Contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
 Carbon and hydrogen outnumber
oxygen
 Insoluble in water
❗ Common Lipids in the Human Body
 Neutral fats (triglycerides)
 Found in fat deposits
 Source of stored energy
 Composed of three fatty acids and
one glycerol molecule
 Saturated fatty acids contain
only single covalent bonds
 Unsaturated fatty acids contain
one or more double covalent
bonds
 Phospholipids
 Contain two fatty acids rather than
three
 Form cell membranes
 Steroids
 Include cholesterol, bile salts,
vitamin D, and some hormones
 Cholesterol is the basis for all
steroids made in the body
 Account for over half of the body’s organic
matter
 Provide for construction materials for
body tissues
 Play a vital role in cell function
 Act as enzymes, hormones and
antibodies
 Contain carbon, oxygen, hydrogen,
nitrogen and sometimes sulfur
 Built from amino acids
AMINO ACID STRUCTURE
 Contain an amine group (NH2)
 Contain an acid group (COOH)
 Vary only by R groups
FIBROUS PROTEINS
 Also known as structural proteins
 Appear in body structures
 Examples include collagen and keratin
 Stable
GLOBULAR PROTEINS
 Also known as functional proteins
 Function as anti bodies or enzymes
 Can be denatured

ENZYMES
 Act as biological catalysts
 Increase the rate of chemical reactions
 Bind to substrate at an active site
 Composed of a nucleotide built from
ribose sugar, adenine base and three
phosphate groups
 Chemical energy used by all cells

 Energy is released by breaking high

energy phosphate bond

 ATP is replenished by oxidation of food

 Nucleic acids fuels
 Built from nucleotides

 Pentose (5 carbon) sugar

 A phosphate group

 A nitrogenous base

 A = adenine

 G = guanine

 C = cytosine

 T = thymine

 U = uracil

❗ Nucleic Acids

 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

 The genetic material found within the

cell’s nucleus

 Provides instruction for every protein in

the body

 Orgainzed by complimentary bases to

form a double-stranded helix

 Contains the sugae deoxyribose and the

bases adenine, thymine, cytosine and
guanine

 Replicates before cell division

 Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

 Carries out DNA’s instructions for protein

synthesis

 Created from a template of DNA

 Organized by complimentary bases to

form a single-stranded helix

 Contains the sugar ribose and the

adenine. uracil, cytosine and guanine

 Three varieties are messenger, transfer

and ribosomal RNA

 Adenisine triphosphate (ATP)