ENERGY,CATALYSIS,andBIOSYNTHESISChapter3p83-.pptVIP

* ENERGY, CATALYSIS, and BIOSYNTHESIS Chapter 3 p83-115 The living cell is a chemical industry in miniature, where thousands of reactions occur within a microscopic space. Metabolism is an emergent property of life that arises from specific interactions between molecules within the orderly environment of the cell. Sugars are converted into amino acids, and vice versa. Small molecules are assembled into polymers, which may later be hydrolyzed as the needs of cell change. Two Laws of Thermodynamics According to the first law of thermodynamics, the energy of universe is constant. Energy can be transferred and transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed. This is also known as conservation energy. The second law of thermodynamics can be stated in several ways. Every energy transfer or transformation makes universe more disordered. There is a quantitative measure of disorder, called entropy, whose value increases as disorder increases. Therefore, second law of thermodynamics states that every energy transfer or transformation makes universe more disordered. One of the unique property living things is to create and maintain the order. In order to create and maintain order cells perform many different chemical reactions, which are small organic molecules like sugars, fatty acids, nucleotides are taken up and modified within cells by chemical reactions through a series of reactions. The chemical reactions occur in every cells require boost in reactivity and precise chemical control. These are achieved by specialized protein called enzymes. Each enzyme accelerates or catalyzes a specific reaction. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions are usually under connected in a series, so that the product of one reaction becomes the starting material or substrate for the next. How a set of enzyme-catalyzed reactions generates a metabolic pathway. Each enzyme catalyzes a particular chemical reaction, leaving the enzyme unchanged. In this example, a set o