CHAPTER 2: Chemical Basis of Life
- Amino Acids
- The structures and abbreviations for amino acids are listed on this
page.
- MathMol Hypermedia Textbook
- This site features a library of 3-D molecular models, including nucleotides,
fats, amino acids, sugars, photosynthetic pigments, and drugs. You can
also learn about the structure of atoms, atomic bonds, the properties of
water, and why carbon is such an important element. The site is hosted
by the New York University/Academic Computing Facility.
- Large Molecules
- Learn more about lipids, sugars, proteins, and nucleic acids from this
chapter of the MIT Hypertextbook.
- Large Molecules Problem Set
- Got a test and need to review your large molecules? This multiple choice
quiz will help you study by referring you to a helpful tutorial if you
get the answer wrong.
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- Periodic Table of the Elements
- This periodic table from the Los Alamos National Laboratory provides
the history, scientific data, and market price of every known element in
the universe.
- Chemicool Table
- What's the most popular element on the Internet? Learn more about this
element, as well as the other 109, at this Massachusetts Institute of Technology
site. If you want to learn about the color and uses of any element, in
addition to all of the scientific information, visit this site.
- General Applications of Nuclear Physics
- How are radioactive isotopes used in radioactive dating and medical
imaging? Read all about the biological applications of nuclear physics.
- Chemistry Review
- If you need another perspective on chemical bonds, pH, structural models,
and basic organic functional groups, check out this chapter from the MIT
Hypertextbook.
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- G6PD: The Most Common Human Enzyme Deficiency in the World
- The inability to produce a particular enzyme is the cause of many different
types of diseases, including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.
This genetic defect is also known as favism, because some people with it are allergic to fava beans. This page looks at this disorder from both a genetic and
a physiological viewpoint.
- Enzyme Biochemistry
- This chapter from the MIT Hypertextbook goes into detail about how
enzymes work and how their activity is regulated.
- Energy, Enzymes, and Catalysis
- This multiple choice quiz for enzymes will refer you to further reading
if you get an answer wrong. Some of the questions may be advanced, but
you can pick and choose the questions that you try to answer.
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2.4 CHEMISTRY IN LIFE PROCESSES
- Bioluminescence
- How do animals like fireflies produce their glow? It's all in the enzymes!
Learn more about how this eerie light is produced and how animals use their
glow.
- Smells Database
- No, they haven't figured out how to transmit smells over the Internet,
but you can find out what smells "look" like at this Berkeley
site. View minty-fresh molecular structures as static images or as 3-D rotatable images.
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- The pH Factor
- You've probably used red cabbage water as a pH indicator, but did you
know radishes and grapes can work as well? Learn about pH at the Miami
Science Museum, which offers fun science activities, including an online pH meter.
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