2a_Biomolecules

//** Living systems are complex and highly organized, and they require matter and energy to maintain this organization. **// Examples: - Whatever we eat will be broken down and digested by our body system. The proteins from the food will be used to build muscle and calcium to build bones. - Snakes shed their skin. Body nutrients are required in this process. Examples: - The nutrient cycle - The animals/bacterias decompose the leaf litter, The trees depends on the nutrients decomposed to grow. - The water cycle - All organisms depend on water for survival.
 * ENERGY, MATTER & ORGANISATION -** BIOMOLECULES
 * Energy is stored in the organization of matter
 * Living organisms use matter and energy to build and maintain body structures
 * Living organisms obtain and process matter and energy
 * The structure of a molecule always dictates its function.
 * The structure and function of biological living systems obeys the laws of thermodynamics.
 * Communities of organisms depend on the cycling of matter and the flow of energy
 * The constant flow of energy and cycling of matter in the biosphere leads to a balanced or steady state.

This balance is achieved through various biogeochemical cycles and the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration - //focus is on ENERGY

The questions we ask about ourselves and the world around us: //

Carbon is the basic building block of life. It can form many structures and bonds because of it unusual four valence electrons (**can form bonds with other elements and also form single bond, double bond, triple bond with** **itself**), especially the **carbon chain** (DNA, carbohydrates, lipids, etc) which is the most important. The carbon chains can form the "backbone" of fatty acids and carbohydrates that are vital for our bodies. Carbon is also the very common on Earth as compared to other elements which may share the similar properties to carbon. - Water below 4 degree Celcius will expand - Universal solvent Plasma molecules - polar and non-polar. Repels water and attracts water.
 * 1) Are we just chemicals?
 * 2) Are we what we eat?
 * 3) Why is the carbon molecule suitable for life as we know it?
 * 1) Why is the chemistry of water suitable for life?