Physiology 2130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Carbonic Acid, Respiratory Alkalosis, Respiratory Acidosis
11 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Many chemical reactions that take place in the body and most machinery inside all the cells are very sensitive to the presence of hydrogen ions. H+ ions can alter the shape of proteins that act as enzymes that speed up chemical reactions. As a result, any change in the concentration of h+ will affect the activity of almost every cell. It is essential that h+ concentration be very carefully regulated. Hydrogen atom has a single proton (positively charged) and a single electron which is negatively charged: = electrically neutral element. Hydrogen ion (h+) is a hydrogen atom that has lost its electron, leaving only the positively charged proton. Acid: any molecule that will release hydrogen ions when put in a solution: eg. Hcl: the more hydrogen, the more acidic the solution. It is the presence of the free h+ that makes a solution acidic. A strong acid will dissociate rapidly and release large amounts of h+ in solution.
