Question 1

How do the unique chemical and physical properties of water make life on earth possible? [Chapter 3]

1. Why does the polarity of water molecules result in the hydrogen bonding ability of the molecule?

2. How do organisms depend on the cohesion of water molecules?

3. Water moderates air temperatures. Why is this and how does this impact life?

4. Ice floats. Why is this important to life?

5. Water is sometimes called the universal solvent. Why is this characteristic of water important to life?

6. Organisms (and the chemical reactions that occur within them) are sensitive to changes in pH. Explain what pH is and the scale that is used to measure it. And, have some examples of how ph effects organisms.

II. How do the unique chemical and physical properties of carbon make life on earth possible? [Chapter 4]

1. What is organic chemistry, and how did it demonstrate that Aristotle’s idea of vitalism was not valid?

2. What makes carbon such a versatile atom that all life is based upon it?

3. Describe the variation that can occur in the carbon skeleton of organic molecules.

4. What are functional groups and how do they contribute to the diversity of organic molecules?

5. What elements most often occur in living matter?

John C. Murphy	Science
Phone: (815) 436-3200, ext. 2120
jmurphy@psd202.org

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