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About the cover image: the chemical connection
The cover shows a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), which can run at speeds of up to 110 kilometres
per hour. Such energy-consuming processes are ultimately powered by the high-energy
molecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). During acceleration, the cheetah uses ATP at a rate of
around 55 g per second. This corresponds to a rate of consumption around 40 times greater
than your current rate of consumption of ATP as you sit reading this (which is a rate of around
just 1.4 g per second).
The design of limbs is different in cheetahs as compared with humans; these differences
give the cheetah the ability to run using significantly less energy than humans. Indeed, as an
approximation, the ATP consumed when a human sprinter runs 100 m would be enough to
power a cheetah for a far greater distance – somewhere between 500 m to 1 km.
The efficient anatomical design of the cheetah leg is reflected in interesting ways: the special
prosthetic lower legs used by the South African amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius are known as
‘cheetahs’.
We learn more about the concept of energy, and the energy of biochemical processes in
Chapter 13. We encounter ATP, a critically important molecule in biological systems,
many times throughout this book, beginning with the opening paragraphs of Chapter 1.
Chemistry for the
Biosciences
The essential concepts
SECOND EDITION
Jonathan Crowe
Oxford, UK
Tony Bradshaw
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp
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in the UK and in certain other countries
Published in the United States
by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
© Jonathan Crowe and Tony Bradshaw, 2010
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
Database right Oxford University Press (maker)
First published 2006
Second edition published 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press,
or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Data available
Typeset by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company
Printed in Italy on acid-free paper by
L.E.G.O. S.p.A.
ISBN 978–0–19–957087–4
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
JWC: For Mum, Nick, and Christina, and the latest
generation: Aimee, Samuel, Jacques, Kenai, and Sebastian.
TKB: For Mum, and the family who were always there; and
for my newly discovered American family.
Physical quantities commonly used in chemistry
Physical quantity Symbol SI unit
Amount of substance, chemical amount n mol
Atomic mass amu (atomic mass unit)
Molar mass M kg mol21
Molecular weight M
r
Atomic weight A
r
Concentration of B [B] mol L21
Wavelength l metre, m
Base SI units
Physical quantity Symbol SI unit
Length l metre, m
Mass m kilogram, kg
Time t seconds, s
Thermodynamic temperature T kelvin, K
Other physical quantities
Physical quantity SI unit
Area m2
Volume m3
Force newton, N
Energy joule, J
Pressure pascal, Pa
Prefixes to form the names and symbols of the decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units
Multiple Prefix Symbol
10215 femto f
10212 pico p
1029 nano n
1026 micro m
1023 milli m
1022 centi c
↑ Getting smaller 1021 deci d
↓ Getting larger 10 deca da
102 hecto h
103 kilo k
106 mega M
109 giga G
Contents at a glance
Periodic table of the elements i
Acknowledgements xix
Welcome to the book xx
1 Introduction: why biologists need chemistry 1
2 Atoms: the foundations of life 10
3 Compounds and chemical bonding: bringing atoms together 38
4 Molecular interactions: holding it all together 82
5 Organic compounds 1: the framework of life 120
6 Organic compounds 2: adding function to the framework of life 151
7 Biological macromolecules: providing life’s infrastructure 185
8 Molecular shape and structure 1: from atoms to small molecules 218
9 Molecular shape and structure 2: the shape of large molecules 247
10 Isomerism: generating chemical variety 278
11 Chemical analysis 1: how do we know what is there? 319
12 Chemical analysis 2: how do we know how much is there? 373
13 Energy: what makes reactions go? 410
14 Kinetics: what affects the speed of a reaction? 459
15 Equilibria: how far do reactions go? 498
16 Acids, bases, and the aqueous environment: the medium of life 538
17 Chemical reactions 1: bringing molecules to life 583
18 Chemical reactions 2: reaction mechanisms driving the
chemistry of life 609
Epilogue 657
Bibliography 658
Answers to self-check questions 660
Index 665
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Contents
Periodic table of the elements i
Acknowledgements xix
Welcome to the book xx
1 Introduction: why biologists need chemistry 1
1.1 Science: revealing our world 2
I’m a biologist: what has chemistry to do with me? 3
1.2 The essential concepts 4
1.3 The language of chemistry 7
Units: making sense of numbers 8
Symbols 9
2 Atoms: the foundations of life 10
2.1 The chemical elements 10
2.2 Atomic composition 12
Protons, electrons, and electrical charge 13
Identifying the composition of an atom: atomic number and mass number 14
The formation of ions 15
Isotopes: varying the number of neutrons 17
Relative abundances and atomic weight 18
Protons and chemical identity 21
2.3 Atomic structure 22
Atomic orbitals 22
2.4 The energy of atoms 24
Orbitals and energy levels 24
Filling up orbitals–the building-up principle 25
The filling of subshells 27
Moving between orbitals: electron excitation 29
Energy levels and quantization 32
2.5 Valence shells and valence electrons 33
Valence electrons and the underlying logic of the periodic table 35
The variety of life: not so varied after all? 36
