Midterm 1 Flashcards
(187 cards)
Covalent bonds
Very strong bonds that hold molecules together. Glue for bio molecules
Hydrogen bonds
very important in stabilizing protein and DNA structures. Much weaker bonds. Uneven sharing of electrons between N- H or O-H
Why does water have relatively high boiling point?
Due to numerous hydrogen bonds.
DNA double helix is held together by
hydrogen bonds between individual bases
When are Hydrogen bonds the strongest?
They provide greater stability in numbers. Less stability locally (easily pull them apart when DNA needs to be replicated)
What disrupts protein structure/denatures proteins?
Disruption of Hydrogen bonds
pH measures
measure of the proton concentration in a solution
The lower the pH…
the higher the hydrogen ion concentration and the stronger the acid.
pH + pOH =
14
pOH =
-log[OH-]
pH =
-log [H+]
pKa =
what is pKa?
what is Ka?
-log[Ka]
pKa is the strength of an acid
Ka is the acid dissociation constant
The lower the pKa for an acid system
the stronger the acid is
Acetic acid (HAc)
a weak acid, it does not completely dissolve in water.
HCl
a strong acid, completely dissociates in water. Strong acids do not have pKa or Ka values
Weak Acid
Molecule containing the most protons in a weak acid system (HA)
Henderson-Hasselbalch
States: pH = pKa + log {[A-]/[HA]}
where [A-] is the concentration of salt and [HA] is the concentration of acid.
Gain or loss of a proton-
causes molecule to gain or lose one full charge.
Carboxylic Acid system’s two forms:
COOH (acid) and COO- (salt)
Weak Acid dissociation
HA, dissociate in water to a limited extent. Ionization is written as HA H+ + A-
(where H+ is the weak acid and A- is the salt - lost a proton)
The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation applies.
Amine systems have two forms:
NH3+ (acid) and NH2 (salt)
Buffer definition
A solution that resists change in pH.
When is buffer system at maximum capacity?
When concentration of HA equals concentration of Ac- (Weak Acid = Salt) This is also where pH = pKa according to the Henderson Hasselbalch equation (log of 1 is zero)
Buffer system example
HAC/Ac- system acts as a buffer because Ac- gobbles up protons when added and HAc releases protons when protons are removed by NaOH.