BSC2010: Outline Notes

2.1: Atoms
● Hydrogen
○ Diameter: Approximately 0.1 nanometers (nm).
○ Mass: 1.67 x 10^-24.
● Number of Protons equals number of Electrons.
● Protons + Neutrons in atomic nucleus.
● Volume of an atom is outside its nucleus.
● Mass of Protons and Neutrons is 1800 times more than an Electrons.
● Atomic mass measured in units called daltons.
○ One dalton (Da) equals about the same as the mass of a proton or a hydrogen
atom.
○ One dalton is also known as an atomic mass unit (amu).
● Twelve grams of carbon equals 1 mole.
● Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen make up 95% of the mass of living organisms.
● Hydrogen makes up 63% of the atoms in our body.

2.2: Chemical Bonds and Molecules

● Covalent Bonds
○ Sharing electrons.
● Electronegativity
○ Ability to attract electrons.
● Polar Covalent Bonds
○ Distribution of electrons around the nuclei creates a polarity, or difference in
electric charge, across the molecule.
○ Different electronegativities.
○ Example: Water.
● Nonpolar Covalent Bonds
○ Similar electronegativities.
● Hydrogen Bond
○ Forms when a hydrogen atom from one polar molecule becomes electrically
attracted to an electronegative atom in another polar molecule.
● Enzymes
○ Molecules that facilitate or catalyze many biologically important chemical
reactions.
● Van der Waals Dispersion Forces
○ Weak molecular attraction.
○ Arise because electrons are located within orbitals in a random way.
● Cations and Anions
○ Cat: Net positive charge.
 ○ An: Net negative charge.
● Free Radical
○ Molecule that contains an atom with a single, unpaired electron in its outer shell.
○ Diagrammed with a dot.
● Antioxidants
○ Able to get protection from free radicals by donating electrons without becoming
highly reactive themselves.
● Brownian Motion
○ Heat causes atoms and molecules to vibrate and move.

2.3: Properties of Water

● Solutes
○ Substances dissolved in a liquid.
● Solvent
○ Liquid in which they are dissolved.
● Solutes dissolve in solvents to form a solution.
● Molecules that contain ionic and/or polar covalent bond dissolve in water.
○ Hydrophilic: “Water-loving”
● Molecules composed of carbon and hydrogen are insoluble.
○ No partial positive and negative charges.
○ Not attracted to water molecules.
○ Hydrophobic.
● Amphipathic
○ Molecules that have both hydrophilic regions at one or more sites and
hydrophobic regions at other sites.
● When mixed with water, long amphipathic molecules may aggregate into spheres called
micelles, with their polar (hydrophilic) regions at the surface of the micelle, where they
are attracted to the surrounding water molecules.
○ The nonpolar ends are oriented toward the interior of the micelle.
● Molarity
○ Number of Moles/1 L of Solution (1 mol/L).
● Heat of Vaporization
○ The heat required to vaporize 1 mole of any substance at its boiling point.
● Heat of Fusion
○ Amount of heat that must be withdrawn or released from a substance to cause it to
change from the liquid to the solid state.
● Specific Heat
○ Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1
degree Celsius.
● Colligative Properties
 ○ Properties that depend strictly on the total number of dissolved solutes, not on the
specific type of solute.
● Hydrolysis Reactions
○ Water used to break apart another molecule.
● Water is incompressible.
● Cohesion
○ Water molecules attracting each other.
● Adhesion
○ Ability of water to be attracted to a surface that is not electrically neutral.
● Surface Tension
○ Measure of the attraction between molecules at the surface of a liquid.
● Alkaline
○ Solution with a pH above 7.
● Buffer
○ Pair of substances, an acid and its related base, that minimizes pH fluctuations in
the fluids of living organisms.
■ If pH increases, reaction would proceed from left to right and vice versa.