Biological Molecules

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  • Created by: Ellen122
  • Created on: 05-12-20 17:01

Inorganic Ions

All living organisms need inorganic ions for components of molecules and structure, these inlcude:

  • Magnesium (Mg2+) which is needed for chlorophyll to stop chlorosis
  • Calcium (Ca2+) which is needed to harden bones and teeth as well as being a component of cell wall
  • Phosphate (PO43+) which is a component of phospholipids, ATP and other nucleic acids
  • Iron (Fe2/3+) which is a component of haemoglobin
  • The body also need copper (Cu2+) and zinc (Zn2+) in trace amounts

Water

Water is a polar molecule, as oxygen has a slight negative charge and hydrogen has a slight positive charge.

There is cohesion between adjacent water molecules causing hydrogen bonds to form.

Hydrogen bonds and cohesion are very weak, yet with lots of them they can pull water to the highes tree in transpiration.

Water has a high surface tension allowing it to act as a habitat for organisms like pond skaters.

It has a high specific heat capacity, meaning it needs a large amount of heat to raise its temperature allowing organisms to keep at a constant temperature. This allows the homeostasis of body temperature in hemeotherms.

It also has a high latent heat capacity, this means it needs a large amount of energy to heat liquid to gas. Sweating removes a large amount of heat energy.

Water is a solvent as it is polar it attracts charged particles such as ions and polar molecules like amino acids and glucose. This forms solutions for chemical reactions base for transport media like blood and sap.

It has a maximum density at 4 degrees celsius prevnting lakes from completely freezing, and the base is then insulated  by less…

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