BIOLOGY

Biology



Biology

Unit 1

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Organic-Compounds.topicArticleId-8741,articleId-8584.html

http://quizlet.com/9629466/module-2-organic-compounds-and-cell-structures-flash-cards/

http://www.biologyjunction.com/organic_model_project_bi.htm

http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/biol115/wyatt/biochem/carbos.htm

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-basics-of-organic-chemistry.html

http://www.quick-facts.co.uk/science/glossary.html

In the above mentioned sites the most common information is regarding atoms and chemical reactions. They all explain that like everything else in nature, the human body is a chemical structure. So any account of the human body cannot avoid some reference to chemistry. Even a sketchy knowledge is helpful in understanding both the structure and the functioning of the body. Chemistry is the ultimate key to it all. Everything is made of atoms, which are the smallest representative parts of each of the ninety-two elements that occur in nature. Elements are either metals, such as iron, copper or calcium; or non-metals such as carbon, oxygen or nitrogen. Chemistry is concerned with the way atoms link together to form molecules, which are the natural chemical units of matter. Molecules represent the smallest particle of a chemical compound which retains the characteristics and chemical properties of the compound. Pure substances, in visible quantity, consist of large collections of identical molecules of the substance (Van, 2008).

Unit 2

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_metabolism.html

http://www.biochemweb.org/metabolism.shtml

http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/rkr/botany110/lectures/photo.html

http://academic.kellogg.edu/herbrandsonc/bio111/metabolism.htm

http://www.sebiology.org/plant/Photosynthesis.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16228591

The above mentioned sites explain that all energy and material transformations that occur within living cells; the sum of all physical and chemical changes that take place within an organism. It includes material changes (i.e., changes undergone by substances during all periods of life, such as growth, maturity, and senescence) and energy changes (i.e., all transformations of chemical energy of foodstuffs to mechanical energy or heat). Metabolism involves two fundamental processes: anabolism (assimilation or building-up processes) and catabolism (disintegration or tearing-down processes). Anabolism is the conversion of food molecules into living cells and tissue; catabolism is the breakdown of complex chemicals into simpler ones, often producing waste products to be excreted. Catabolism also includes cell respiration for the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and release of heat energy.

A useful measure of industrial metabolic efficiency is the economic output per unit of material input, which can be termed materials productivity. In principle, this can be determined for the economy as a whole, as well as for each sector and major nutrient element (e.g., carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur, or iron).

Various approaches have been developed to measure sustainability, including material flow analysis, physical input-output tables, life cycle assessment, cost minimization models, equilibrium models, and dynamic optimization and system dynamics. Unsustainability can be determined by the amount or degree of dissipative loss (materials that are not reused or recycled) and analyzing the reasons for dissipative loss may help develop systems to improve sustainability. There are three principle reasons why materials are not recycled: recycling may be inherently unfeasible, or technically feasible but not economically viable under current conditions, or both technically and economically feasible, but not occurring for other reasons.

The process by which green plants, algae, diatoms, and certain forms of bacteria make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, using energy captured from sunlight by chlorophyll, and releasing excess oxygen as a byproduct. In plants and algae, photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts. Photosynthesis is usually viewed as a two-step ...