BIOL103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Atomic Number, Electronegativity, Carbon-12
Document Summary
Describe what an element is and be able to list the main elements composing life. List the components of an atom, describe how they are arranged and the significance of each part. Isotopes: some atoms have more neutrons than other atoms of the same element = isotope, e. g. Carbon most common is carbon-12; however carbon-14 can be found (rare: although they have different masses, isotopes behave the same in chemical reactions. Describe the strong bonds which hold atoms together in a molecule and the weak bonds which hold molecules together. Chemical bonds: atoms with incomplete valence shells can interact with certain other atoms so each partner completes its valence shell, the atoms either gain (-) or share (+) electrons, strongest chemical bonds, covalent bonds. Covalent bonds: created by sharing of electrons, a compound whose atoms are shared by covalent bonding is called a covalent compound, resulting stable association is called a molecule, non polar covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds.
