Chapter 2: The Chemistry of Life Flashcards
(73 cards)
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid
Fatty acids with multiple double carbon bonds. These kinds of fatty acids cannot be synthesized by the body.
Van Der Waals Forces
Weak, brief attractions between two neutral atoms.
Gamma Rays
Rays emitted by uranium and plutonium and have extremely penetrating power.
Suspensions
Mixture of solute and solvent where the solutes exceed 100 nm and the particles separate when allowed to stand. Opaque or extremely cloudy substances.
Decomposition Reactions
A large molecule breaks down into two or more smaller ones.
AB —> A + B
Mineral
Inorganic elements extracted from the soil by plants and passed up the food chain to humans and other organisms
Colloids
Mixtures of solute and solvent where the solutes are between 1 and 100 nm and the particles remain mixed when standing. Cloudy substances.
Element
Th simplest form of matter to have unique chemical properties
Electromagnetic Energy
Kinetic energy stored in moving radiation called photons
Oxidation
Any chemical reaction in which a molecule give up electrons and release energy.
Free energy
The potential energy available in a system to do useful work.
Sucrose
Glucose + Fructose, one of three primary disaccharides.
Physical Half-Life
Charged particles with an unequal amount of protons and electrons.
Organic Chemistry
The study of compounds of carbon.
Solutions
Mixtures of a solute and solvent where the solutes are less than 1 nm and the solute/solvent do not separate. Clear substances.
Ionic Bonds
The attraction between a cation and an anion
Atomic Weight
Relative atomic mass which accounts for the mixture of isotopes.
Radioactivity
The process of decay which turns unstable radioisotopes into stable isotopes
Isotopes
Varieties of elements which differ from one another only in number of neutrons and therefore atomic mass.
Law of Mass Action
Reversible reactions proceed from the reactants in greater quantities to the substances in lower quantities.
Chemical Energy
Potential energy stored in the bonds of molecules.
Lactose
Glucose + Galactose, one of three primary disaccharides
Maltose
Glucose + Glucose, one of three primary disaccharides.
Functional Groups
Small clusters of atoms that determine many properties of an organic molecule.