Reproduction

Importance of Reproduction:

1. To create next generation. Unique property of a particular organism is transferred from one generation to the next generation through genes, which are situated in the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid).

2. During Meiosis number of chromosomes become half of that in the parent cells. As a result when both male and female gametes fuse to form zygote, the number of chromosomes becomes adequate for the species involved.

3. Every animal cell has fixed number of chromosomes. Human cell contain 23 pairs or 46 chromosomes. After meiosis egg and sperm cells contain 23 chromosomes. After zygote formation the number of chromosomes is once again 23 pairs. This is necessary to maintain the unique identity of a species.

4. To create variations in species. As no two individuals are same, so genetic characters from both parents will help make a slightly different copy of themselves. These small variations accumulate over hundreds of years resulting in formation of new species.

5. New species facilitate evolution of organisms. Evolution is necessary for survival as environmental conditions keep on changing from time to time. As per Darwin nature has a method of selecting the best fit species for survival.

Types of Reproduction:

1. Asexual Reproduction

2. Sexual Reproduction

Asexual Reproduction:

In unicellular plants and animals and some multicellular organisms as well the mode of reproduction is asexual. In this case the organism doesn't make zygote. There are following types of asexual reproduction:

1. Binary Fission: As the name suggests, the organism breaks into two parts by cell division. Unicellular organism like Amoeba and bacteria reproduce in this way.

2. Budding: Some multicellular organisms like Hydra and Yeast make a bud outside their body. The bud, after growing to certain extent detaches from the parent body and goes on living like an independent organism.

3. Vegetative Reproduction in Plants: Certain plants have capacity to make a new plant from their vegetative parts. For example if you plant a stem of rose it will develop root and ultimately a new plant is born. Leaves of Bryophyta grow roots at the margins of their leaves, which ultimates gives birth to a separate plant.

4. Reproduction in Virus: Virus enters the nucleus of the host cells. After that it manipulates the DNA of the host to reproduce a new virus.

5. Parthenogenesis: Some lower plants and animals, like some bees and wasps reproduce in this way. An organism develops embryo without fertilization. The embryo ultimately gives birth to a new generation.

6. Spore Formation: Some fungi and algae make spores. You must have noticed white cotton like growth on stale bread and food. These are spores of fungi. These spores, during favourable environmental conditions give birth to the new generation. Sexual Reproduction:

Sexual reproduction involves formation of zygote or embryo to facilitate transfer of genetic information from both parents, and development of embryo in a developed offspring. Sexual Reproduction in Plants:

Flower can be termed as the sexual organ of a plant. All the parts of a flower are arranged around an axis. These are as follows:

1. Sepals: Green leaf like structure.

2. Petals: Colourful structures, which add attraction to a flower. This attraction is not only having ornamental value, but a more important role in facilitating reproduction. Insects and birds, attracted by the colour, help transfer pollen grains or male gametes from male flower to female flower. This helps in pollination.

3. Androecium.

4. Gynoecium.

sexual reproduction in flower

Male Reproductive Organ of Plant: Androecium

The flower of a plant contains tube like structures called stamen. At the top of stamen is a chambered structure called Androecium. Androecium is responsible for the production of male gamete also called pollen grains.

Female Reproductive Organ of Plant: Gynoecium

Usually at the centre of a flower you can notice Gynoecium. Gynoecium is pitcher shaped structure with a long tube protruding out of it. The gynoecium produces female gamete also called eggs.

Pollination: The process of transfer of pollen grains from androecium to gynoecium is called pollination. This can happen in same flower, or between different flowers of the same plant. When only one plant is involved the process is called self-pollination. When flowers of two different plants are involved, then it is called cross pollination. Cross pollination can be facilitated by insects, birds, animals, air or water.

Zygote Formation: Once pollen grains enter the androecium, one of them enters the egg to fertilize it to form a zygote. Seeds are the zygote or embryo of the plant. To survive and to germinate seeds need source of food. In all seeds there is abundance of food. That is why for our daily need we depend on so many seeds like rice, wheat, groundnut for food. During germination the food in the cotyledon is used to grow a new plant. Once green leaves come out, they take care of further food production. Reproductive System in Humans:

Male Reproductive System:

1. Testis: Testis is a galndular organ made up of fine tubules. Testis produces sperm or male gamete.

2. Seminal Vesicle: Once sperm is produced it is stored in seminal vesicle.

3. Vas Deferens: Vas deference is the tube through which semen containing sperm is transferred out.

Apart from producing sperm, testis also produces certain hormones, like tetosterone which are responsible for secondary sexual characters in humans. These are deep male voice, hair growth in pubic area and under armpits, and facial hair.

Female Reproductive Organs:

1. Ovary: Ovaries are situated on left and right side of the uterus. Ovaries have an inner epithelial lining called endometrium, which is responsible for the production of eggs.

2. Fallopian Tubes: Fallopian tubes extends on both sides of the uterus in transverse direction. Fallopian tubes have finger like structures which catch the eggs to transfer them to the uterus.

3. Uterus: Uterus is a bag like structure, with an opening in the vagina. Once eggs reach uterus, a layer of soft tissues develops to support the embryo. This layer is called corpus luteum. If fertilization takes place, then the embryo develops into a foetus and ultimately to a fully developed child over a period of about 9 months.

Menstrual Cycle in Females: If no fertilization takes place then after about two weeks the dead eggs and corpus luteum gets expelled out of the uterus through vagina. This process takes place over a period of about three to four days. This clears the way for new batch of eggs to come in the uterus. The whole cycle from egg production to the expulsion of eggs takes about four weeks. This cycle is known as Menstrual Cycle. Apart from humans, some primates like Chimpanzee and Gorilla also show same phenomenon.

Ovary secretes one of the important hormones estrogen, which is responsible for secondary sexual characters in female, like thin voice and breast enlargement. Bio 2 Heredity And Evolution

Heredity:

Characters of parents get copied in children. Skin colour, hair colour, height, appearance, etc. in children resemble either of parents or grandparents. This phenomenon is known as heredity. Chromosomes contain genes, which work like a recording device recording all the genetic codes of an individual and transferring them to the next generation.

Variation:

As half of the chromosomes come from paternal side and rest half from maternal side, so the offspring will have a mix of characters from both parents. This mixing up of characters creates slight variation in the genetic makeup of the offspring. These variations accumulate over hundreds of years giving rise to a altogether new species. Rules for the Inheritance of Traits Mendels Contributions:

John Gregor Mendel (1856-63) conducted hybridization experiments on pea plants for many generations and studying how certain characters get transferred from one generation to the next generation. He also studied how certain characters become dormant or prominent in a particular generation. One of the experiments involved making hybrids of wrinkled seeds and smooth seeds. The results can be depicted by following diagram:

Mendel's Inheritance of characters

Interpretation of Results: In the first generation all the seeds were wrinkled. The 'wrinkled' character was dominant, while the 'smooth character was dormant. Both characters were present in the genotype or genetic makeup. In the next generation 25% of seeds were pure wrinkled with 'wrinkled' genotype, 25% seeds were pure smooth with 'smooth' genotype and 50% of seeds were wrinkled with 'wrinkled+smooth' genotype. This shows how sometimes children of tall father can be of average height as the 'tall' character becomes dormant in that generation. Sex Determination

This issue answers the question how it is possible that the newborn is a male or female. In some animals, like crocodile, the temperature at which an egg hatches determines the sex of a newborn. In human it depends on the last pair of chromosomes. As you know human have 23 pairs of chromosomes. 22 pairs are alike and the 23rd pair can be of similar or dissimilar chromosomes. In females both chromosomes of the 23rd pair consists of X type, while in male the 23rd pair is made up of XY chrmosomes. Following diagram shows what happens when a zygote is formed:

sex detrmination schematic diagram

It is clear by above diagram that when two gametes with X chromosome make zygote the offspring will be female. When one gamete with X chromosome fertilizes another gamete with Y chromosome to make zygote the offspring will be male. EVOLUTION:

Life started on earth as simple unicellular organisms. These organisms through evolution over millions of years created hugely diverse life forms which we see today. In fact variations accumulating over a period of time created a new species and the process continued and will be continued in years to come.

Charles Robert Darwin (18091882) Charles Darwin set out on a voyage when he was 22 years old. The five-year voyage took him to South America and the islands off its coast. During his voyage Darwin collected huge number of specimens for his study. After analyzing all information he came up with his theory of evolution in his book 'Origin of Species.

Origin of Life on Earth: All living beings are made up of basic elements like Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. In the initial period of earth's life these elements combined together to form the earliest living beings, which had the power of replicating itself. Darwin's Theory of Evolution:

Struggle for Existence

1. Species have great fertility. They have more offspring than can grow to adulthood.

2. Populations remain roughly the same size, with small changes.

3. Food resources are limited, but are relatively stable over time.

4. An implicit struggle for survival ensues.

5. In sexually reproducing species, generally no two individuals are identical.

6. Some of these variations directly affect the ability of an individual to survive in a given environment.

7. Much of this variation is inheritable.

Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest

8. Individuals less suited to the environment are less likely to survive and less likely to reproduce, while individuals more suited to the environment are more likely to survive and more likely to reproduce.

9. The individuals that survive are most likely to leave their inheritable traits to future generations.

10. This slowly effected process results in populations that adapt to the environment over time, and ultimately, after interminable generations, these

variations accumulate to form new varieties, and ultimately, new species.

Proofs of Evolution:

1. Homologous organs: Organs, like forelimbs, digestive system, of humans, birds, crocodiles and bat show same basic design. This similarity in design suggests that they have originated from same root.

2. Analogous organs: Wings of bats and those of birds are different in design but serve the same purpose. The similarity in purpose indicates towards single source of their origin.

3. Rudimentary Organs: Certain organs in human are having no functional value. Appendix and nictitating membrane are such examples. Appendix is reduced form of an additional chamber in the digestive system of ruminating animals like cow, where they help in cellulose digestion. Humans no longer need them so they are functionless. Nictitating membranes in frog's eyes help them to see under water. We need special goggles for that. These rudimentary organs suggest that we have evolved from frogs.

4. Developmental Stages in Foetus: This theory suggests that right after the formation of zygote up to delivery an animals passes every stage of evolution through which it has evolved. In case of humans at certain stage the human embryo looks like that of a fish, later it looks like that of a frog and ultimately it develops into a human being. This is like reliving your past lives.

5. Fossils: Fossils are remains of living beings which were buried millions of years ago under the earth. They provide us with linking proofs between various groups of animals.

Evolution and Classification:

Evolutionary principles has been used for classification of animals and plants.

For example all animals with four legs have been included in the class tetrapoda (tetra:four; podium:Legs). All flowering plants come under angiosperms.

Main Animal Groups

evolution and classification Physics 1 Light: Reflection And Refraction

Laws of Reflection:

(i) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, and

(ii) The incident ray, the normal to the mirror at the point of incidence and the reflected ray, all lie in the same plane.

These laws of reflection are applicable to all types of reflecting surfaces including spherical surfaces.

Plane Mirror:

Image formed by a plane mirror is always virtual and erect. The size of the image is equal to that of the object. The image formed is as far behind the mirror as the object is in front of it. Further, the image is laterally inverted.

Spherical Mirror:

1. Concave Mirror: A spherical mirror, whose reflecting surface is curved

inwards, that is, faces towards the centre of the sphere, is called a concave mirror.

2. Convex Mirror: A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is curved outwards, is called a convex mirror.

Key Terminologies:

1. Pole: The centre of the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is called the pole. It is represented by 'P'.

2. Centre of Curvature: The centre of the sphere is called the centre of curvature. The spherical mirror is part of a big sphere. The centre of curvature lies outside the mirror. In case of concave mirror it lies in front of the reflective surface. In case of convex mirror it lies behind the reflective surface.

3. Radius of Curvature: The radius of the sphere is called the radius of curvature. It is represented by 'R'.

4. Principal Axis: The line joining the pole and the center of curvature is called the principal axis.

5. Principal Focus: In mirrors with small aperture (diameter) roughly half of the radius of curvature is equal to the focus point. At focus point all the light coming from infinity converge, in case of concave mirrors. The light seem to diverge from f, in case of convex mirrors.

Image Formed by Concave Mirror: (S here stands for distance between object and mirror.)

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1. When S < F, the image is: Virtual, Upright , Magnified (larger)

2. When S = F, the image is formed at infinity. In this case the reflected light rays are parallel and do not meet the others. In this way, no image is formed or more properly the image is formed at infinity.

3. When F < S < 2F, the image is: Real, Inverted (vertically), Magnified (larger)

4. When S = 2F, the image is: Real, Inverted (vertically), Same size

5. When S > 2F, the im5. When S > 2F, the image is: Real, Inverted (vertically), Diminished (smaller) j

Use of Concave Mirrors: They are used in torches, searchlights, to reflect a beam of light to great distance. Doctors use concave mirrors to throw beam of light inside ears and mouth to examine patients. Headlights of automobiles use concave mirrors for better visibility.

Image Formed By Convex Mirror: The image is always virtual (rays haven't actually passed though the image), diminished (smaller), and upright . These features make convex mirrors very useful: everything appears smaller in the mirror, so they cover a wider field of view than a normal plane mirror does as the image is "compressed".

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Use of Convex Mirrors: Rear-view mirrors of automobiles are convex mirrors. They enable the driver to see through a wider vision field without craning his neck. At hairpin bends on hilly roads convex mirrors are installed for motorists to see the traffic on the other side of the bend.

Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical Mirrors

While dealing with the reflection of light by spherical mirrors, we shall follow a set of sign conventions called the New Cartesian Sign Convention. In this convention, the pole (P) of the mirror is taken as the origin. The principal axis of the mirror is taken as the x-axis (XX) of the coordinate system. The conventions are as follows:

(i) The object is always placed to the left of the mirror. This implies that the light from the object falls on the mirror from the left-hand side.

(ii) All distances parallel to the principal axis are measured from the pole of the mirror.

(iii) All the distances measured to the right of the origin (along + x-axis) are taken as positive while those measured to the left of the origin (along x-axis) are taken as negative.

(iv) Distances measured perpendicular to and above the principal axis (along + y-axis) are taken as positive.

(v) Distances measured(v) Distances measured perpendicular to and below the principal axis (along y-axis) are taken as negative.

Mirror Formula and Magnification

In a spherical mirror, the distance of the object from its pole is called the object distance (u). The distance of the image from the pole of the mirror is called the image distance (v). You already know that the distance of the principal focus from the pole is called the focal length (f). There is a relationship between these three quantities given by the mirror formula which is expressed as

1/v + 1/u = 1/f

Magnification

Magnification produced by a spherical mirror gives the relative extent to which the image of an object is magnified with respect to the object size. It is expressed as the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object. It is usually represented by the letter m. If h is the height of the object and h is the height of the image, then the magnification m produced by a spherical mirror is given by

m = Height of Image (h') / Height of Object (h) = h' / h

The magnification m is also related to the object distance (u) and image distance (v). It can be expressed as:

Magnification (m) = h'/h = -v/u REFRACTION OF LIGHT

Light does not travel in the same direction in all media. It appears that when travelling obliquely from one medium to another, the direction of propagation of light in the second medium changes. This phenomenon is known as refraction of light.

Laws of refraction of light

(i) The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface of two transparent media at the point of incidence, all lie in the same plane.

(ii) The ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is a constant, for the light of a given colour and for the given pair of media. This law is also known as Snells law of refraction.

If i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction, then, sin i/ sin r = constant This constant value is called the refractive index of the second medium with respect to the first.

The Refractive Index

A ray of light that travels obliquely from one transparent medium into another will change its direction in the second medium. The extent of the change in direction that takes place in a given pair of media is expressed in terms of the refractive index.

The refractive index can be linked to an important physical quantity, the relative speed of propagation of light in different media. It turns out that light propagates with different speeds in different media. Light travels the fastest in vacuum with the highest speed of 3108 ms1. In air, the speed of light is only marginally less, compared to that in vacuum. It reduces considerably in glass or water. The value of the refractive index for a given pair of media depends upon the speed of light in the two media, as given below:

Speed of Light in Air = c

Speed of light in a medium = v

Then refractive index Then refractive index of medium

nm = c/v

The speed of light is higher in a rarer medium than a denser medium. Thus, a ray of light travelling from a rarer medium to a denser medium slows down and bends towards the normal. When it travels from a denser medium to a rarer medium, it speeds up and bends away from the normal.

Refractive Index of Some Media

refractive index

Refraction by Spherical Lenses

A transparent material bound by two surfaces, of which one or both surfaces are spherical, forms a lens. This means that a lens is bound by at least one spherical surface. In such lenses, the other surface would be plane. A lens may have two spherical surfaces, bulging outwards. Such a lens is called a double convex lens. It is simply called a convex lens. It is thicker at the middle as compared to the edges. Convex lens converges light rays, hence convex lenses are called converging lenses. Similarly, a double concave lens is bounded by two spherical surfaces, curved inwards. It is thicker at the edges than at the middle. Such lenses diverge light rays as shown and are called diverging lenses. A double concave lens is simply called a concave lens.

A lens, either a convex lens or a concave lens, has two spherical surfaces. Each of these surfaces forms a part of a sphere. The centres of these spheres are called centres of curvature of the lens.

Image formed by convex lens

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image by convex lens

Image Formed by Concave Lens

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image by concave lens

Sign Convention for Spherical Lenses

According to the convention, the focal length of a convex lens is positive and that of a concave lens is negative. Appropriate signs for the values of u, v, f, object height h and image height h.

Lens Formula and Magnification

This formula gives the relationship between objectdistance (u), image-distance (v) and the focal length (f ). The lens formula is expressed as:

1/v 1/u = 1/f<1/v 1/u = 1/f

Magnification

The magnification produced by a lens, similar to that for spherical mirrors, is defined as the ratio of the height of the image and the height of the object. It is represented by the letter m. If h is the height of the object and h is the height of the image given by a lens, then the magnification produced by the lens is given by:

m =Height of the Image/Height of the object = h'/h = v/u

Where object-distance Where object-distance is u and the image-distance is v.

Power of a Lens

The degree of convergence or divergence of light rays achieved by a lens is expressed in terms of its power. The power of a lens is defined as the reciprocal of its focal length. It is represented by the letter P. The power P of a lens of focal length f is given by:

P =1/f

The SI unit of power of a lens is dioptre. It is denoted by the letter D. If f is expressed in metres, then, power is expressed in dioptres. Thus, 1 dioptre is the power of a lens whose focal length is 1 metre. 1D = 1m1. Power of a convex lens is positive and that of a concave lens is negative. Opticians prescribe corrective lenses indicating their powers.

Let us say the lens prescribed has power equal to + 2.0 D. This means the lens prescribed is convex. The focal length of the lens is + 0.50 m. Similarly, a lens of power 2.5 D has a focal length of 0.40 m. The lens is concave. Many optical instruments consist of a number of lenses. They are combined to increase the magnification and sharpness of the image. The net power (P) of the lenses placed in contact is given by the algebraic sum of the individual powers P1, P2, P3, as

P = P1 + P2 + P3 + Physics 2 Human Eye: The Colourful World

THE HUMAN EYE: Structure:

1. Pupil: Pupil is the round black spot in front of eye. It regulates the amount of light entering the eyes. Pupil works like aperture of a camera. In case of dim light pupil dilate to allow more light to enter the eyes. In case of strong light pupil constrict allowing less light to enter.

2. Irish: Irish is made of muscles. They control the size of opening if pupil.

3. Lens: Lens lies just behind the pupil. Lens becomes thin to increase its focal length. This enables us to see distant objects clearly. To focus on nearer objects lens becomes thick to decrease its focal length. But there is a limit. The minimum distance of clear vision is 25 cm. Below this distance we cannot see things clearly.

4. Retina: Retina works like a screen or camera film. Retina is full of light and colour sensitive cells. These cells, upon receiving image send electrical signals to the brain, which processes these information to make a mental image of what we see.

Benefits of two eyes: One eye is having a field of vision of about 150 degrees. Both the eyes enable us to see upto a field of 180 degrees. Moreover, as two different images get juxtaposed in the brain, so we are able to see a three dimensional view of the world.

Human Eye Basic Structure

Malfunctions of Eyes:

1. Cataract: In old age the cornea becomes cloudy. This reduces the vision in old age. In early stages of the disease cataract can be cured by eye surgery. Sometimes artificial lens is also transplanted during cataract surgery. This is called Intra Ocular Lens Transplantation.

2. Myopia: Myopia is also known as near-sightedness. A person with myopia

can see nearby objects clearly but cannot see distant objects distinctly. In a myopiceye, the image of a distant object is formed in front of the retina and not at the retina itself. This defect may arise due to (i) excessive curvature of the eye lens, or (ii) elongation of the eyeball. This defect can be corrected by using a concave lens of suitable power. A concave lens of suitable power will bring the image back on to the retina and thus the defect is corrected.

3. Hypermetropia: Hypermetropia is also known as far-sightedness. A person with hypermetropia can see distant objects clearly but cannot see nearby objects distinctly. The near point, for the person, is farther away from the normal near point (25 cm). Such a person has to keep a reading material much beyond 25 cm from the eye for comfortable reading. This is because the light rays from a closeby object are focussed at a point behind the retina. This defect arises either because

(i) the focal length of the eye lens is too long, or

(ii) the eyeball has become too small.

This defect can be corrected by using a convex lens of appropriate power. Eyeglasses with converging lenses provide the additional focussing power required for forming the image on the retina.

4. Presbyopia: The power of accommodation of the eye usually decreases with ageing. For most people, the near point gradually recedes away. They find it difficult to see nearby objects comfortably and distinctly without corrective eye-glasses. This defect is called Presbyopia. It arises due to the gradual weakening of the ciliary muscles and diminishing flexibility of the eye lens. Sometimes, a person may suffer from both myopia and hypermetropia. Such people often require bifocal lenses. A common type of bi-focal lenses consists of both concave and convex lenses. The upper portion consists of a concave lens. It facilitates distant vision. The lower part is a convex lens. It facilitates near vision.

ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION

Twinkling of stars

The twinkling of a star is due to atmospheric refraction of starlight. The starlight, on entering the earths atmosphere, undergoes refraction continuously before it reaches the earth. The atmospheric refraction occurs in a medium of gradually changing refractive index. Since the atmosphere bends starlight towards the normal, the apparent position of the star is slightly different from its actual position. The star appears slightly higher (above) than its actual position when viewed near the horizon . Further, this apparent position of the star is not stationary, but keeps on changing slightly, since the physical conditions of the earths atmosphere are not stationary, as was the case in the previous paragraph. Since the stars are very distant, they approximate point-sized sources of light. As the path of rays of light coming from the star goes on varying slightly, the apparent position of the star fluctuates and the amount of starlight entering the eye flickers the star sometimes appears brighter, and at some other time, fainter, which is the twinkling effect.

Advance sunrise and delayed sunset

The Sun is visible to us about 2 minutes before the actual sunrise, and about 2 minutes after the actual sunset because of atmospheric refraction. By actual sunrise, we mean the actual crossing of the horizon by the Sun. The time difference between actual sunset and the apparent sunset is about 2 minutes. The apparent flattening of the Suns disc at sunrise and sunset is also due to the same phenomenon. SCATTERING OF LIGHT

Tyndall Effect

The earths atmosphere is a heterogeneous mixture of minute particles. These particles include smoke, tiny water droplets, suspended particles of dust and molecules of air. When a beam of light strikes such fine particles, the path of the beam becomes visible. The light reaches us, after being reflected diffusely by these particles. The phenomenon of scattering of light by the colloidal

particles gives rise to Tyndall effect. This phenomenon is seen when a fine beam of sunlight enters a smoke-filled room through a small hole. Thus, scattering of light makes the particles visible. Tyndall effect can also be observed when sunlight passes through a canopy of a dense forest. Here, tiny water droplets in the mist scatter light. The colour of the scattered light depends on the size of the scattering particles. Very fine particles scatter mainly blue light while particles of larger size scatter light of longer wavelengths. If the size of the scattering particles is large enough, then, the scattered light may even appear white.

Why is the colour of the clear Sky Blue?

The molecules of air and other fine particles in the atmosphere have size smaller than the wavelength of visible light. These are more effective in scattering light of shorter wavelengths at the blue end than light of longer wavelengths at the red end. The red light has a wavelength about 1.8 times greater than blue light. Thus, when sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the fine particles in air scatter the blue colour (shorter wavelengths) more strongly than red. The scattered blue light enters our eyes. If the earth had no atmosphere, there would not have been any scattering. Then, the sky would have looked dark. The sky appears dark to passengers flying at very high altitudes, as scattering is not prominent at such heights. You might have observed that danger signal lights are red in colour. The red is least scattered by fog or smoke. Therefore, it can be seen in the same colour at a distance. Chemistry Carbon and its Compounds

Carbons Capacity to Share Electrons:

Carbon has four electrons in its outermost shell and needs to gain or lose four electrons to attain noble gas configuration. If it were to gain or lose electrons

(i) It could gain four electrons forming C4 anion. But it would be difficult for the nucleus with six protons to hold on to ten electrons, that is, four extra electrons.

(ii) It could lose four electrons forming C4+ cation. But it would require a large amount of energy to remove four electrons leaving behind a carbon cation with six protons in its nucleus holding on to just two electrons.

Carbon overcomes this problem by sharing its valence electrons with other atoms of carbon or with atoms of other elements. Not just carbon, but many other elements form molecules by sharing electrons in this manner. The shared electrons belong to the outer shells of both the atoms and lead to both atoms attaining the noble gas configuration.

This type of bond formed by sharing of electrons is called covalent bond. Covalently bonded molecules are seen to have strong bonds within the molecule, but intermolecular forces are small. This gives rise to the low melting and boiling points of these compounds. Since the electrons are shared between atoms and no charged particles are formed, such covalent compounds are generally poor conductors of electricity.

Let us now take a look at methane, which is a compound of carbon. Methane is widely used as a fuel and is a major component of bio-gas and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). It is also one of the simplest compounds formed by carbon. Methane has a formula CH4. Hydrogen, as you know, has a valency of 1. Carbon is tetravalent because it has four valence electrons. In order to achieve noble gas configuration, carbon shares these electrons with four atoms of hydrogen as shown below:

carbon valency

Allotropes of carbon: The element carbon occurs in different forms in nature with widely varying physical properties. Both diamond and graphite are formed by carbon atoms, the difference lies in the manner in which the carbon atoms are bonded to one another. In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms forming a rigid three-dimensional structure. In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms in the same plane giving a hexagonal array. One of these bonds is a double-bond, and thus the valency of carbon is satisfied. Graphite structure is formed by the hexagonal

arrays being placed in layers one above the other.

VERSATILE NATURE OF CARBON

The numbers of carbon compounds whose formulae are known to chemists was recently estimated to be about three million! This outnumbers by a large margin the compounds formed by all the other elements put together. The nature of the covalent bond enables carbon to form a large number of compounds. Two factors noticed in the case of carbon are

(i) Carbon has the unique ability to form bonds with other atoms of carbon, giving rise to large molecules. This property is called catenation. These compounds may have long chains of carbon, branched chains of carbon or even carbon atoms arranged in rings. In addition, carbon atoms may be linked by single, double or triple bonds. Compounds of carbon, which are linked by only single bonds between the carbon atoms are called saturated compounds. Compounds of carbon having double or triple bonds between their carbon atoms are called unsaturated compounds. No other element exhibits the property of catenation to the extent seen in carbon compounds. Silicon forms compounds with hydrogen which have chains of upto seven or eight atoms, but these compounds are very reactive. The carbon-carbon bond is very strong and hence stable. This gives us the large number of compounds with many carbon atoms linked to each other.

(ii) Since carbon has a valency of four, it is capable of bonding with four other atoms of carbon or atoms of some other mono-valent element. Compounds of carbon are formed with oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, chlorine and many other elements giving rise to compounds with specific properties which depend on the elements other than carbon present in the molecule.

Again the bonds that carbon forms with most other elements are very strong making these compounds exceptionally stable. One reason for the formation of strong bonds by carbon is its small size. This enables the nucleus to hold on to the shared pairs of electrons strongly. The bonds formed by elements having larger atoms are much weaker.

Organic compounds

The two characteristic features seen in carbon, that is, tetravalency and catenation, put together give rise to a large number of compounds. Many have the same non-carbon atom or group of atoms attached to different carbon chains. These compounds were initially extracted from natural substances and it was thought that these carbon compounds or organic compounds could only be formed within a living system. That is, it was postulated that a vital force was necessary for their synthesis. Friedrich Whler disproved this in 1828 by preparing urea from ammonium cyanate. But carbon compounds, except for oxides of carbon, carbonate and hydrogencarbonate salts continue to be studied under organic chemistry.

Saturated and Unsaturated Carbon Compounds

In order to arrive at the structure of simple carbon compounds, the first step is to link the carbon atoms together with a single bond and then use the hydrogen atoms to satisfy the remaining valencies of carbon. For example, the structure of ethane is arrived in the following steps

ethane

C2H6 Ethane

ethene

C2H4 Ethene

In the first example of ethane all valency of carbon atoms is satisfied, hence this is called as saturated carbon compound or saturated organic compound.

 In the second example of ethane valency of carbon atom is not fully satisfied, hence this is called as unsaturated organic compound.

Compounds formed by carbon and hydrogen only are called hydrocarbons.

Those hydrocarbons which have single bonds in molecular structure are called alkanes. Generic formula for alkanes is CnH(2n+2)

Hydrocarbons with double bonds are called alkenes. Generic formula for alkenes is CnH2n

Hydrocarbons with triple bonds are called alkynes. Generic formula for alkynes is CnHn

Carbon seems to be a very friendly element. So far we have been looking at compounds of carbon and hydrogen. But carbon also forms bonds with other elements such as halogens, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. In a hydrocarbon chain, one or more hydrogens can be replaced by these elements, such that the valency of carbon remains satisfied. In such compounds, the element replacing hydrogen is referred to as a heteroatom. These heteroatoms confer specific properties to the compound, regardless of the length and nature of the carbon chain and hence are called functional groups. The functional group is attached to the carbon chain through this valency by replacing one hydrogen atom or atoms.

functional groups

Homologous Series

The presence of a functional group such as alcohol dictates the properties of the carbon compound, regardless of the length of the carbon chain. For example, the chemical properties of CH3OH, C2H5OH, C3H7OH and C4H9OH are all very similar. Hence, such a series of compounds in which the same

functional group substitutes for hydrogen in a carbon chain is called a homologous series.

As the molecular mass increases in any homologous series, a gradation in physical properties is seen. This is because the melting points and boiling points increase with increasing molecular mass. Other physical properties such as solubility in a particular solvent also show a similar gradation. But the chemical properties, which are determined solely by the functional group, remain similar in a homologous series.

Nomenclature of Carbon Compounds

The names of compounds in a homologous series are based on the name of the basic carbon chain modified by a prefix phrase before or suffix phrase after indicating the nature of the functional group.

Naming a carbon compound can be done by the following method

(i) Identify the number of carbon atoms in the compound. A compound having three carbon atoms would have the name propane.

(ii) In case a functional group is present, it is indicated in the name of the compound with either a prefix or a suffix.

(iii) If the name of the functional group is to be given as a suffix, the name of the carbon chain is modified by deleting the final e and adding the appropriate suffix.

For example, a three-carbon chain with a ketone group would be named in the following manner Propane e = propan + one = propanone.

(iv) If the carbon chain is unsaturated, then the final ane in the name of the carbon chain is substituted by ene or yne. For example, a three-carbon chain with a double bond would be called propene and if it has a triple bond, it would be called propyne.

nomencalture

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBON COMPOUNDS

Combustion: Carbon, in all its allotropic forms, burns in oxygen to give carbon dioxide along with the release of heat and light. Most carbon compounds also release a large amount of heat and light on burning.

Saturated hydrocarbons will generally give a clean flame while unsaturated carbon compounds will give a yellow flame with lots of black smoke. However, limiting the supply of air results in incomplete combustion of even saturated hydrocarbons, giving a sooty flame. The gas/kerosene stove used at home has inlets for air so that a sufficiently oxygen-rich mixture is burnt to give a clean blue flame. If you observe the bottoms of cooking vessels getting blackened, it means that the air holes are blocked and fuel is getting wasted. Fuels such as coal and petroleum have some amount of nitrogen and sulphur in them. Their combustion results in the formation of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen which are major pollutants in the environment.

Oxidation: Carbon compounds can be easily oxidised on combustion. In addition to this complete oxidation, we have reactions in which alcohols are converted to carboxylic acids

oxidation

Addition Reaction: Unsaturated hydrocarbons add hydrogen in the presence of catalysts such as palladium or nickel to give saturated hydrocarbons. Catalysts are substances that cause a reaction to occur or proceed at a different rate without the reaction itself being affected. This reaction is commonly used in

the hydrogenation of vegetable oils using a nickel catalyst.

Substitution Reaction: Saturated hydrocarbons are fairly unreactive and are inert in the presence of most reagents. However, in the presence of sunlight, chlorine is added to hydrocarbons in a very fast reaction. Chlorine can replace the hydrogen atoms one by one. It is called a substitution reaction because one type of atom or a group of atoms takes the place of another. A number of products are usually formed with the higher homologues of alkanes.

SOME IMPORTANT CARBON COMPOUNDS ETHANOL AND ETHANOIC ACID

Properties of Ethanol: Ethanol is a liquid at room temperature. Ethanol is commonly called alcohol and is the active ingredient of all alcoholic drinks. In addition, because it is a good solvent, it is also used in medicines such as tincture iodine, cough syrups, and many tonics. Ethanol is also soluble in water in all proportions. Consumption of small quantities of dilute ethanol causes drunkenness. Even though this practice is condemned, it is a socially widespread practice. However, intake of even a small quantity of pure ethanol (called absolute alcohol) can be lethal. Also, long-term consumption of alcohol leads to many health problems.

Reactions of Ethanol

(i) Reaction with sodium Alcohols react with sodium leading to the evolution of hydrogen. With ethanol, the other product is sodium ethoxide.

ethanol reaction with sodium

(ii) Reaction to give unsaturated hydrocarbon: Heating ethanol at 443 K with excess concentrated sulphuric acid results in the dehydration of ethanol to give ethene The concentrated sulphuric acid can be regarded as a dehydrating agent which removes water from ethanol.

reaction unstaurated hydrocarbon

Effects of Alcohol: When large quantities of ethanol are consumed, it tends to slow metabolic processes and to depress the central nervous system. This results in lack of coordination, mental confusion, drowsiness, lowering of the normal inhibitions, and finally stupour. The individual may feel relaxed but does not realise that his sense of judgement, sense of timing, and muscular coordination have been seriously impaired. Unlike ethanol, intake of methanol in very small quantities can cause death. Methanol is oxidised to methanal in the liver. Methanal reacts rapidly with the components of cells. It causes the protoplasm to get coagulated, in much the same way an egg is coagulated by cooking. Methanol also affects the optic nerve, causing blindness. Ethanol is an important industrial solvent. To prevent the misuse of ethanol produced for industrial use, it is made unfit for drinking by adding poisonous substances like methanol to it. Dyes are also added to colour the alcohol blue so that it can be identified easily. This is called denatured alcohol.

Properties of Ethanoic Acid:

Ethanoic acid is commonly called acetic acid and belongs to a group of acids called carboxylic acids. 5-8% solution of acetic acid in water is called vinegar and is used widely as a preservative in pickles. The melting point of pure ethanoic acid is 290 K and hence it often freezes during winter in cold climates. This gave rise to its name glacial acetic acid. The group of organic compounds called carboxylic acids are obviously characterised by a special acidity. However, unlike mineral acids like HCl, which are completely ionised, carboxylic acids are weak acids.

Reactions of ethanoic acid:

(i) Esterification reaction: Esters are most commonly formed by reaction of an acid and an alcohol. Ethanoic acid reacts with absolute ethanol in the presence of an acid catalyst to give an ester

easterification

Esters are sweet-smelling substances. These are used in making perfumes and as flavouring agents. Esters react in the presence of an acid or a base to give back the alcohol and carboxylic acid. This reaction is known as saponification because it is used in the preparation of soap.

Alcohol as a fuel: Sugarcane plants are one of the most efficient convertors of sunlight into chemical energy. Sugarcane juice can be used to prepare molasses which is fermented to give alcohol (ethanol). Some countries now use alcohol as an additive in petrol since it is a cleaner fuel which gives rise to only carbon dioxide and water on burning in sufficient air (oxygen).

(ii) Reaction with a base: Like mineral acids, ethanoic acid reacts with a base such as sodium hydroxide to give a salt (sodium ethanoate or commonly called sodium acetate) and water:

alcohol reaction with base

(iii) Reaction with carbonates and hydrogencarbonates: Ethanoic acid reacts with carbonates and hydrogencarbonates to give rise to a salt, carbon dioxide and water. The salt produced is commonly called sodium acetate.

alcohol reaction with carbonates PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS

Elements are classified on the basis of similarities in their properties.

Dbereiner grouped the elements into triads and Newlands gave the Law of Octaves.

Mendelev arranged the elements in increasing order of their atomic masses

and according to their chemical properties.

Mendelev even predicted the existence of some yet to be discovered elements on the basis of gaps in his Periodic Table.

Anomalies in arrangement of elements based on increasing atomic mass could be removed when the elements were arranged in order of increasing atomic number, a fundamental property of the element discovered by Moseley.

Elements in the Modern Periodic Table are arranged in 18 vertical columns called groups and 7 horizontal rows called periods.

Elements thus arranged show periodicity of properties including atomic size, valency or combining capacity and metallic and non-metallic character.

Periodic Law: Properties of elements are a periodic function of their atomic number.

Atomic number gives us the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom and this number increases by one in going from one element to the next. Elements, when arranged in order of increasing atomic number Z, lead us to the classification known as the Modern Periodic Table. Prediction of properties of elements could be made with more precision when elements were arranged on the basis of increasing atomic number.

Position of Elements in the Modern Periodic Table :

The Modern Periodic Table has 18 vertical columns known as groups and 7 horizontal rows known as periods. Let us see what decides the placing of an element in a certain group and period. All elements of a group contain same number of valence electrons, which justifies similar chemical properties.

The atomic radius decreases in moving from left to right along a period. This is due to an increase in nuclear charge which tends to pull the electrons closer to the nucleus and reduces the size of the atom.

periodic table

Atoms of different elements with the same number of occupied shells are placed in the same period. Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl and Ar belong to the third period of the Modern Periodic Table, since the electrons in the atoms of these elements are filled in K, L and M shells.

Metallic & Non-metallic Properties:

Metals like Na and Mg are towards the left-hand side of the Periodic Table while the non-metals like sulphur and chlorine are found on the right-hand side. In the middle, we have silicon, which is classified as a semi-metal or metalloid because it exhibits some properties of both metals and non-metals.

In the Modern Periodic Table, a zig-zag line separates metals from non-metals. The borderline elements boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium and polonium are intermediate in properties and are called metalloids or semi-metals. Metals tend to lose electrons while forming bonds, that is, they are electropositive in nature.

As the effective nuclear charge acting on the valence shell electrons increases across a period, the tendency to lose electrons will decrease. Down the group, the effective nuclear charge experienced by valence electrons is decreasing because the outermost electrons are farther away from the nucleus. Therefore, these can be lost easily. Hence metallic character decreases across a period and increases down a group.

As the trends in the electronegativity show, non-metals are found on the righthand side of the Periodic Table towards the top. These trends also help us to predict the nature of oxides formed by the elements because it is know that

the oxides of metals are basic and that of non-metals are acidic in general.