CHEMICAL REACTIONS

METABOLISM Your metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions that take place within you. ( There are literally thousands of them going on at any given moment! ) Every chemical reaction involves the breaking of bonds within the reactants and the rearranging of atoms and formation of new bonds in the products. There are four major types of chemical reactions that are common in biology. 1.Dehydration Synthesis 2.Hydrolysis 3.Neutralization 4.REDOX

DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS AKA: Condensation Reaction In a dehydration synthesis reaction, subunits of a larger molecule are joined together by the removal of water. We see these reactions all the time in biochemistry. They are use to construct carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.

HYDROLYSIS Hydrolysis is a reaction in which water is used as a reactant to split a larger molecule into smaller subunits. Hydrolysis is the exact opposite of dehydration synthesis. ”Dehydration Makes!…Hydrolysis Breaks!” Digestion of many materials depends greatly upon hydrolysis.

NEUTRALIZATION A neutralization reaction occurs between an acid and a base. These opposing chemicals nullify each others properties and form water and a salt. ACID + BASE  WATER + SALT Your body has a number of areas that must maintain a specific pH level if function is to be maintained so your body has a series of buffer systems in place that use acids and/or bases to do this.

REDOX REDOX reactions involve the movement of electrons from one substance to another. It is also known as am electron transfer reaction. Oxidation involves the loss of electrons by a substance. Reduction involves the gain of electrons by a substance. Each reaction will have a reducing agent and an oxidizing agent…the reducing agent gives up the electrons and the oxidizing agent receives the electrons…sounds backwards but it ain’t! We see REDOX reactions quite commonly when there is energy transfer within the cell.

REDOX

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