Ch. 3 Chemistry of Life Reading Questions
Name__________________________________________, Period_____, Score______
Read Pages 48-49
1. What do people and igloos have in common?
2. How can understanding basic chemistry help you in biology?
Read pages 51-54
3. What is matter? And what is it made of?
4. What is an atom?
5. What are the three particles of atoms?
6. What is the region called where electrons hang out?
7. What is an element?
8. Most elements want how many electrons in their valence shell?
9. What is the difference between a molecule and a compound?
10. What is a covalent bond?
11. What is an ionic bond?
12. What is NaCl? And what kind of bond holds it together?
13. Explain why water is a polar molecule.
14. Why does salt dissolve in water?
15. Rate the strengths of the following bonds. 1 being the strongest and three being the
weakest.
_______ Hydrogen bonds
_______ Covalent bonds
_______ Ionic bonds
Read pages 55-58
16. Why does water matter?
17. Most of water unique properties happen because it has what?
18. Name 4 important properties of water?
1.
2.
3.
4.
19. What is a solution?
20. Explain the difference between an acid and a base.
21. What is made when an acid and a base is mixed together?
22. What is pH?
23. What are buffers?
24. What kind of animal can walk on water because it doesn’t break the surface tension of
the water?
Read Pages 59-63
25. What are biomolecules?
26. What is the basic element in biomolecules?
27. What are carbohydrates?
28. What kind of food contains carbohydrates?
29. Sugar contains _____________, ___________ and ____________ in the ratio 1:2:1.
30. What kind of sugar (monosaccharide) is pictured on page 60?
31. An example of a disaccharide is _____________________, and an example of a
polysaccharide is _______________________.
32. What do cells use carbohydrates for?
33. Give an example of a carbohydrate that is used for support in the cells of living things.
34. What are lipids?
35. What are the main functions of lipids?
36. What are waxy lipids used for?
37. What are the workhorse molecules of living things?
38. Name four functions of proteins in living things.
1.
2.
3.
4.
39. Proteins are made of a smaller molecule called an _________________________.
40. How many different amino acids are there?
41. What is a protein primary structure?
42. Nucleic acid is a long chain of ________________________ units.
43. What kind of nucleic acid contains instructions for the processes of an organism’s life?
44. What is ATP?
Read page 64-67
45. What is energy?
46. What is a chemical change?
47. In a chemical reaction explain the difference between reactants and products.
48. What two condition need to occur in order to get a chemical reaction?
49. What do enzymes do?
50. Why is the shape of an enzyme important?