Anchor Summary
There are three main components in the Chemical Basis for Life. The three main components are “Water and how its unique properties help sustain life on Earth”, “Relationship between structures and functions at different levels of biochemical organization”, and “How enzymes regulate biochemical reactions within a cell.
The first main component is “Water and how its unique properties help sustain life on Earth”. Water has a myriad of properties that makes it essentially for sustaining life on Earth. One of these properties is acting as the universal solvent, which means that water can break down numerous things within the body and pretty much wash anything. Other unique properties include waters’ high boiling point and freezing point which means that water takes a long time to heat up and to freeze. This is important because it means that the water that is inside organisms won’t be nearly as affected when the body is faced with extreme temperatures. Other properties that are important are water's’ Cohesion and Adhesion which basically means that water molecules stick to other water molecules and to other molecules.
The second main component is “The relationship between structures and functions at different levels of biochemical organization”. The smallest unit is the atom, which when makes molecules, and when they’re grouped up makes macromolecules. There are 4 types of macromolecules, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, and Carbohydrates. Proteins are used for building structures within the cell as well as speeding up chemical reactions within the cell. Lipids are used used for long term energy storage. Nucleic Acids are used to make up DNA and RNA. Carbohydrates are used for short-term energy.
The third main component is “How enzymes regulate biochemical reactions in the cell”. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze (speed up) chemical reactions. Without enzymes organisms wouldn’t be able to survive because chemical reactions wouldn’t take place at a sufficient enough rate to sustain life.
The first main component is “Water and how its unique properties help sustain life on Earth”. Water has a myriad of properties that makes it essentially for sustaining life on Earth. One of these properties is acting as the universal solvent, which means that water can break down numerous things within the body and pretty much wash anything. Other unique properties include waters’ high boiling point and freezing point which means that water takes a long time to heat up and to freeze. This is important because it means that the water that is inside organisms won’t be nearly as affected when the body is faced with extreme temperatures. Other properties that are important are water's’ Cohesion and Adhesion which basically means that water molecules stick to other water molecules and to other molecules.
The second main component is “The relationship between structures and functions at different levels of biochemical organization”. The smallest unit is the atom, which when makes molecules, and when they’re grouped up makes macromolecules. There are 4 types of macromolecules, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, and Carbohydrates. Proteins are used for building structures within the cell as well as speeding up chemical reactions within the cell. Lipids are used used for long term energy storage. Nucleic Acids are used to make up DNA and RNA. Carbohydrates are used for short-term energy.
The third main component is “How enzymes regulate biochemical reactions in the cell”. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze (speed up) chemical reactions. Without enzymes organisms wouldn’t be able to survive because chemical reactions wouldn’t take place at a sufficient enough rate to sustain life.
Objectives- Describe how the unique properties of water support life on Earth.
- Describe and interpret relationships between structure and function at various levels of biochemical organization (i.e., atoms, molecules, and macromolecules) - Explain how enzymes regulate biochemical reactions within a cell. |
Essential QuestionsHow do enzymes regulate biochemical reactions within a cell?
How does water's unique properties help sustain life on Earth? What are the relationships between structures and functions at different levels of biochemical organization? |
Important Notes
Key Terms
- Carbohydrate - Any class of organic compounds that are formed from hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon.
- Nucleic Acid - A complex organic compound that is made up of multiple nucleotides linked together in a chain.
- Lipids - Any class of organic compounds that are fatty acids and don’t dissolve in water.
- Proteins - Any class of organic compound that is made of large chains of amino acids.
- Monomers - A small molecule that can be combined with other identical molecules.
- Polymers - Molecules that are composed of multiple monomer.
- Monosaccharides - Simple Sugars.
- Disaccharides - A link of two simple sugars.
- Polysaccharides - A link of three or more simple sugars.
- Fatty Acids - Molecules that are large chains of lipids-carboxylic acid.
- Amino Acid- Simple organic compounds containing both a carboxyl and an amino.
- Adhesion - the tendency of water molecules to stick to other surface
- Carbohydrate - a macromolecule made of carbon hydrogen and oxygen that cells used for energy
- Catalyst - a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being changed itself
- cohesion- the tendency of water molecules to stick to each other
- Freezing point - The temperature at which a liquid changes phase to become a solid
- Lipids organic - compound composed of carbon and hydrogen and relatively little oxygen that are insoluble in water
- Macromolecules - large complex molecules made of chains of smaller molecules include lipids carbohydrates proteins and nucleic acid
- Monomers - small building block molecules that combine through chemical reaction to form large polymers
- Nucleic acid - DNA and RNA biological macromolecules made of carbon hydrogen nitrogen and oxygen and phosphorus that convey genetic information
- Specific heat- the amount of heat energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 g of a substance 1°C