Chp 2 Objectives

Why This Chapter Matters

1. Many important biological questions can be reduced to aspects of chemistry.

2. Living organisms are, at their most basic level, chemical systems.

3. Understanding the chemical level of biology requires a basic understanding of chemistry.

4. Water’s unique life-supporting properties can be traced to the structure and interactions of its molecules.

Chapter Objectives

Biology and Society: More Precious than Gold

1. Explain why water is precious to life and how droughts cause such damage.

Some Basic Chemistry

2. Distinguish between matter, chemical elements, and compounds. Give examples of each.

3. Explain the significance of trace elements to human health.

4. Describe the relative size, location, and electrical charge of protons, neutrons, and electrons within an atom. Explain how the atomic number and mass number are determined.

5. Define an isotope and explain how isotopes are used in biological research and medicine.

6. Explain how the location of electrons determines the chemical properties of an atom.

7. Distinguish between ionic, covalent, and hydrogen chemical bonds.

8. Describe the structure of water and explain how its shape makes water a polar molecule.

9. Write the chemical formula for the creation of water from hydrogen and oxygen. Identify the reactants and products of this reaction.

Water and Life

10. Describe the four life-supporting properties of water. Describe an example of how each property affects some form of life.

11. Describe the relationship between aerobic exercise and brain size.

12. Distinguish between the chemical properties of acids, bases, and neutral solutions. Explain how buffers stabilize the pH of acidic and basic solutions.

13. Describe the potential impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean.

Evolution Connection: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

14. Explain why the search for extraterrestrial life centers on the search for water.