· On your own and without assistance, complete thisLab 2Answer Sheet electronically and submit it via theAssignments Folder by the date listed in theCourse Schedule (underSyllabus).

· To conduct your laboratory exercises, use the Laboratory Manual located under Course Content. Read the introduction and the directions for each exercise/experiment carefullybefore completing the exercises/experiments and answering the questions.

· Save your Lab 2Answer Sheet in the following format: LastName_Lab2 (e.g., Smith_Lab2).

· You should submit your document as a Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file for best compatibility.

Pre-Lab Questions

1. Nitrogen fixation is a natural process by which inert or unreactive forms of nitrogen are transformed into usable nitrogen. Why is this process important to life? (5 points)

2. Given what you have learned about the hydrogen bonding shared between nucleic acids in DNA, which pair is more stable under increasing heat: adenine and thymine, or cytosine and guanine? Explain why. (5 points)

3. Which of the following is not an organic molecule: Methane (CH₄), Fructose(C₆H₁₂O₆), Rosane (C₂₀H₃₆), or Ammonia (NH₃)? How do you know? (5 points)

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION;

Chemistry of Life

Introduction

The chemistry of life is one of the most important parts of biology. As we’ll see, it explains why our bodies need oxygen, water, and food; how those nutrients are absorbed or excreted by the body; and how living organisms use energy for growth or repair. All these things are made possible by the way molecules interact with each other in solution whether they’re dissolved in water or suspended in air or trapped in cells surrounded by proteins that hold everything together like Lego blocks being stacked on top of each other until someone pulls them apart again.

Carbon

Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and it’s a key building block for life. Carbon forms bonds with other elements to form organic molecules such as sugar, starch or DNA. Organic molecules can be made from carbon alone but they need other atoms to make them work together.

The first step in the process is to find a source of carbon. Once this has been done, the next step is to convert it into methane (CH4). The conversion takes place in two stages:

Oxidation-Reduction (Redox) Reactions

Oxidation and reduction are reciprocal reactions. Oxidation is a loss of electrons, while reduction is the gain of electrons. The reaction between oxygen (an oxidizing agent) and hydrogen sulfide (a reducing agent) in water produces H2S which is toxic to humans. However, if this reaction occurs over time, it would consume much less energy than it takes to make H2S from its constituent elements!

In other words: oxidation is bad for you; reduction makes things better for your health! In biology/chemistry terms: oxidation = negative charge (-); reduction = positive charge (+).

Water

Water is a solvent, reactant, and product. Water is also a catalyst in many reactions. It can act as a nucleophile to form hydrogen bonds with other molecules, or it can act as an electrophile to abstract hydrogen atoms from another molecule.

Water is a solvent for many organic compounds. It can dissolve large amounts of salt, sugar and other substances that are essential for life. The fact that water is such an effective solvent helps explain its importance to living things.

pH

pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline (basic) an environment is. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral and higher numbers indicating greater acidity or alkalinity.

The average human body has a pH between 7.35 and 7.45, which means that it’s slightly acidic on average (a little more than neutral). This makes sense because we’re made up mostly of water and other liquids, which would naturally be slightly acidic if left at room temperature for long periods of time.

Solutions and Concentration

Solutions are a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances. They are usually liquids, but can be solids or gases. In order to be considered a solution, the individual compounds must dissolve equally in each other (i.e., no separating layers). The concentration of one substance in a solution is called its molarity; it is measured by mass per volume and expressed as mass per unit volume (molarity), moles per kilogram (molality), and/or volumetric concentrations based on mass units rather than gravimetric units used for dry powders (e.g., grams dissolved per liter).

Metabolism

Metabolism is the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in an organism. It is a process that occurs in living organisms to sustain life.

Metabolism can be broken down into two parts: catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism involves breaking down complex molecules into simpler ones, for example by degrading glucose into carbon dioxide and water (a form of respiration). Anabolism involves building up from smaller units or structures through synthesis, a process known as biosynthesis (the opposite of catabolic breakdown).

The chemistry of life is one of the most important parts of biology.

The chemistry of life is one of the most important parts of biology. The chemistry of life is important because it helps you understand how other parts work, and how they relate to each other.

The chemistry of life is also important because it helps you understand how the cells work, and how they relate to each other.

The chemistry of life is important because it helps you understand how other parts work, and how they relate to each other. The chemistry of life is also important because it helps you understand how the cells work, and how they relate to each other.

Conclusion

The chemistry of life is one of the most important parts of biology. It provides us with a better understanding of how organisms function and interact with their environment. This knowledge has helped us develop new drugs for diseases like cancer or diabetes, as well as ways to create renewable energy sources like solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells. In addition, many researchers study this topic because they want answers about some mysterious phenomenon called “life” itself!