Porphyrins are cyclic compounds formed by the

linkage of pyrole ring methine bridge.

Characteristic property of porphyrin is the
formation of complexes with metal ions bound to
the nitrogen atom of the pyrole ring.
Based on the substituents present in the porphyrin, it
is classified as
1.Uroporphyrin- Acetyl +porphynol group
2.Coroporphyrin- Methyl + porphynol group
3.Protoporphyrin- Methyl + porphynol group + vinyl

Porphyrin form 4 coordinates with central metal. Metal

ions are bound to the nitrogen atom of pyrole ring.

They are very common in natural biological system

due to its stability.
 Haemoglobin

Red coloured respiratory pigment.

Conjugated chromoprotein.
Consist protein part called globin and non-protein
prosthetic group called haem.
Each haemoglobin contain 4 haem groups.

Function oxygen and carbondioxide transport

oxygen-oxy haemoglobin
carbondioxide- carbonaminohaemoglobin
 Leghaemoglobin

Found in nitrogen fixing root nodules of legume

plants.
Helps in nitrogen fixation.
Red colour pigment.

Chlorophyll

Green colour pigment found in green plant and

algae.
Composed of porphyrin ring containing magnesium
ion as central metal atom.
 Vitamin B12
Contain slightly modified ring called corrin ring.
Cobolt 2+ ion present as central metal ion.

Function- important for proper functioning of

nervous system.
b)Mention the biological
importance of Vitamin B12 and
chlorophyll
Biological importance of vitamin B12
1.Cardio vascular support

Involve in the production of RBC.

RBC contain heamoglobin.

Key building block of heamoglobin is

Succinyl CoA.

Without vitamin B12 Succinyl CoA cant

be produced.

Deficiency of vitamin B12 cause anemia.

Involve in the prevention of excessive
homocystein production.

Normalizes the level of homocystein in

blood by coverting homocystein to
methionine.

Accumilation of homocystein in blood

stream cause coronary heart disease,
pheripheral vascular disease.
2.Production of DNA
Necessary Co-factor for the production
of DNA.

3.Used to treat vitamin B12 deficiency,

cyanide poisoning and hereditary
deficiency of transcobalamine.
4.Maintanence of brain and nervous system

An enzyme called methytrasferase help to

conduct some nerve impulse .

Methyl group for this enzyme is provided by

methyl donar called S-adenosylmethionine
(SAMe).

Vitamin B12 help in the recycling of

SAMe.
Low level of vitamin B12 cause

anaemia

loss of balance

tingling in the arm and legs

weakness
Biological importance of chlorophyll
1.Chlorophyll is an important pigment in plant
because it help the plant to produce its own
food and energy. By the process photo-
synthesis.

2.Help to maintain oxygen and carbondioxide

concentration in the atmosphere at
equillibrium.Because during photosynthesis
plants use carbondioxide as raw material and
release oxygen as end product.
3.It is importtant to animals because

Animals obtain carbohydrates from plants

only.

Animals breath oxygen which is the waste

product of the process photosynthesis.
c)Explain the formation of ozone
in the atmosphere.
Ozone is found in the atmosphere which consist of
three oxygen atoms.

Ozone is formed when enegytic uv radiations like

UVC and UVB dessociate the molecule of oxygen,
into oxygen atoms.

Then an oxygen atom collide with oxygen molecule

and form ozone.
This formed ozone can also be decomposed by
UV radiation from sun. Therefore ozone is
completely created and destroyed by UV radiation.

Formation of ozone can be explained by the

Chapman cycle,which is put forwarded by Sydney
Chapman.
 Chapman cycle
1.Initiation-Oxygen dessociation by UV radiation
2.Propagation-Some atomic oxygen combine with
oxygen molecule to form ozone.
Ozone absorbs UV light from
different frequencies and dessociate.
3.Termination-Ozone molecule react with oxygen
atom to form oxygen molecule.
High energy radiation like UVC and UVB fully
absorbed ozone in the atmosphere. Ozone
prevent these radiation coming to atmosphere.
April/May 2007

Part A
Question No:-2
a) Explain natural and artificial
radioactivities.
 Radioactivity

Radioactivity is a spontaneous emission of

paricles(alpha,beta,neutrons) or radiation or
both at sametime.

These particles are emitted due to an

adjustment of their internal structure.
 Radioactivity is discovered by Henri
Bacquerel in 1896.

An element to exist in nature, it should have

stable nucleus.If not those elements which dont
have stable nucleus, to attain stable state they
emit paricles or radiation and attain the stable
state.
 Natural radioactivity
Nuclear reactions which occur spontaneously are
said to be natural radioactivity.

In natural radioactivity the substance already has

radioactivity in their natural state.

There are 3 naturally occuring radioactive series

among the elements in the periodic table.They are
Uranium series,Actinium series,Thorium series.

Each series decays through a number of unstable

nuclei by means of alpha and beta emmision,until
they end on different isotops of lead.
 Artificial radioactivity
In artificial radioactivity , the radioactivity has been
induced by irradiation.

Not all nuclear reactions are spontaneous.These

reaction occur when stable isotops are bombard
with high speed charged particles.

This method of inducing nuclear reaction is called

artificial radioactivity.

EXAMPLE:The bombardment of U-235 with a

charged particle , releases tremendous amount of
energy.
b)Give an account of environmental
pollution caused by nitrogen
compounds.
Human activities,both industrial and agricultural,
have strongly increased the amount of biologically
active nitrogen compounds in the environment.

Nitrogen compounds causes wide variety of

environmental impacts because of various
compounds and derivatives in the family of nitogen
including:
Nitogen oxide
Nitric acid
Nitrous oxide
Nitrates
Nitric oxide
Ground level ozone(smog)-This is formed when
NOx and volatile organic compounds react in the
presence of heat and light.

Acid rani- NOx and sulphur oxide react with other

substance in the air and form acid , which fall to the
earth as rain,snow or dry particles. Acid rain
damages buildind, destroys cultivation, causes lakes
and streams to become acidic and cause death of
aquatic organisms.
Water quality deterioration- Increased nitrogen
loading in water bodies particularly coastal estuaries
upset the chemical balance of nutrients used by
aquatic plants and animals.

Addition of additional nitrogen accelerates

eutrophication, which leads to oxygen depletion and
reduces the diversity of aquatic environment.
Global warming- One of the member of global
warming is NOx . Nitrous oxide is a green house
gas, it accumulates in the atmosphere with other
green house gases causing a gradual rise in the
temperature of earth.

Visibility impairment- Nitrate particles and

nitrogendioxide block the transmission of light,
reducing visibility in urban areas.
c)Explain the role of phosphorus
biological system.
Phosphorus present in both plant and animal.

Essential nutrient for both in the form of phosphate ion.

Phosphorus is classified as macronutrient.

Macronutrients are substances needed for growth,
metabolism , functions of body and provide calories of
energy.
Phosphorus is a component of certain enzymes
and proteins.

Component of ATP, ADP. ATP AND ADP essential

in storage of energy and transfer reaction.These
are the molecules which provide energy required
for all biological processes.

Phosphorus encoding information in genes,as it is

the component of nucleotide and nucleic acid
Involve in the formation of part of structure of DNA
and RNA. These two molecules are nucleic acid
component which store genetic information.

Important for the development of seed.

Phosphorus play important role in root health.

Provide the ability of plant to tolerate soil born
disease such as avocado root rot.
Dominant application of phosphorus is in fertilizers,
which provide phosphates as required for plants.
Phosphorus is a building blocks of certain parts of
human and animal body such as bones and teeth.

The main component of bone is

hydroxyapatite as well as calcium
phosphate. Hydroxyapatite is a main
component of tooth enamel.

Phosphorus is present in teeth

and bone as apatite.
Phospholipids are main structural component of
all cell membranes. It makes the bilayer of cell
membrane. Cell membrane seperates its cell from
its surrounding.
Phosphorus is used in water treatment

Phosphorus in the form of soluable phosphates

added during water treatment.

They are used to remove unwanted metal salts

from water.

Used as water softners because they bond with

unwanted metals, turning them into metal
phosphates.

Some organic phosphates are added to water

treatment to help teeth and born of human.
 Part A
Question No:3
a) Name the pollutants that deplete
the ozone layer and explain their
effects.
Pollutants that deplete ozone layer:

1.Choloroflorocarbon
2.Halogens- (Cl, F)
3.Methyl chloroform
4.Carbon tetra chloride
5.HCFC
Reaction of ozone layer depletion

X=H OR NO OR OH OR CL
X(g)+O3(g) XO(g)+O2(g)
O2(g) 2O(g)
XO(g)+O(g) X(g)+O2(g)

Over all reaction:

2O3(g) 2O2(g)
Ozone layer is deplteted by free radical catalyst
including nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, hydroxyl,
atomic halogens.

The concentration of chlorine and bromine have

increased in atmosphere in recent years due to
the release of large quantities of man made
organohalogen compounds.Especially CFC,BrFC.

.
These highly stable compounds are capable of
surviving the rise to stratosphere , where chlorine
and bromine radicals are liberated by the action of
UV light .

Each radical is then free to initiate and catalyse a

chain reaction , which is capable of breaking down
over 100000 ozone molecule.
b)Name one compounds of
sulphur and selenium and give
their biological importance.
Compound of sulphur:

Compound of selenium:
Biological importance of sulphur:

Effects in cell culture

several malignant lympoid cell which are
defective in methylthioadenosine
phosphorlyase require a source of
sulphur for poliferation.

Activation of enzymes
sulphur appears to be the physiological
source in the iron-sulphur cluster
enzyme.
Sulphuration of t-RNA
thiopyrimidines and methylthiopurines
are normal constituents of t-RNA in all
organisms.They have important regulat-
ory function in translation. The intro-
duction of sulphur is a post transcriptional
modification of t-RNA.

Oragano sulphur compounds are used as:

antibiotic
anticancer
antithrombic
cholesterol lowering agent.
Sulphur is an essential component of all living cells.
In plant and animal cell cysteine and methionine
contain most of the sulphur.

Sulphur compounds in fertilizer improves the quality

of legume plants and cereals

Certain sulphur compounds act as antibacterial,

antifungal and antiviral agents in some plants.
Biological importance of selenium:

Make special proteins called selenoprotein,

antioxidant enzyme, which prevent cell damaging.

Help the body to protect after vaccination.

Prevent certain cancers.

Protect the body from the poisonous effects of

heavy metals and other harmful subatances.

Help in wound healing.

Prevent cardiovascular diseases. Low level of
selenium contribute to heart failure.

Body needs selenium in order for immune system

to work properly. Selenium along with other
minerals , help in building of WBC , which increase
the ability of body to fight against illness and
infection.

Help in male fertility. Selenium helps to make

certain proteins found in sperm.
c)Mention the toxic effect of Arsenic.
Toxic effects of arsenic:

Decrease the production of RBC.

Irritation of stomach.
Lung irritation.
Lymphatic cancer.
Severe vomiting.
Liver cancer.
Skin cancer.
Diarrhea.