BIOPHYSICS

ENERGY AND LIFE

What is energy?

What is life?
 ENERGY AND LIFE

One of the most amazing things about your body is

how it absorbs the food you eat and turns it into
energy that allows you to think and move your body.

What is energy?
Metabolism

What is life?
ENERGY
 ENERGY
What is energy?

- The Universe is made of Matter (all the "stuff" in solid,

liquid, or gaseous forms) and Energy.
- Energy exists in the way Objects interact with each other.
- Energy can usually only be observed indirectly - by
observing the processes occurring in a system.
- Energy is a physical quantity that follows laws, including the
law of conservation of energy, the first law of
thermodynamics, and the second law of thermodynamics.
 ENERGY

Energy is the ability to do work or cause a change

Energy exists in many forms such as: motion, light,
sound, electric and magnetic fields, and thermal
energy.
Confusion related to energy is because it is expressed in
many different units. These include units at the molecular
level such as (eV) to units used in the kitchen such as
calories.
Physicists tend to use the Joule (J), although chemists
often prefer the calorie.
 ENERGY

Energy is often useful when it is converted/transformed.

This is often called 'using energy,' which is confusing
because energy cannot be used up – it is only converted into
another form of energy (according to the law of conservation
of energy).

The rate ( energy per unit of time) at which energy is

transferred (or 'used') is called Power.
 ENERGY

The sun transforms

nuclear energy into thermal
energy and light.
Our body transforms the
chemical energy in food into
mechanical energy for us to
move.
An electric fan converts
electrical energy into kinetic
energy.
 ENERGY
Forms of Energy

Kinetic Energy – KE Potential Energy – PE

• Macroscopic kinetic energy • Gravitational PE
• Microscopic kinetic energy • Chemical energy
• Electrical energy • Mechanical energy
• Radiant energy (EM radiation)
• Sound energy
• Thermal energy
 ENERGY

According to the law of conservation of energy: "energy is

not naturally created or destroyed, it only changes from one
form to another”.
So, if we cannot create energy, how did the infinite energy
source we have today form?
 ENERGY

Since energy cannot be created (or destroyed), humans

extract energy from high-energy sources called
primary sources, or through physical processes that convert
the form of energy, called primary flows.
There are 03 forms of energy sources in nature:
1. Fossil fuels: petroleum, coal, natural gas
2. Renewable energy sources
3. Alternative energy sources
 ENERGY

Example: The process of evaporation and

precipitation allows rivers to continue flowing.

We use energy from the water flow to generate electricity;

the energy ultimately comes from the sun.

Energy has changed form several times, but no energy

was created or destroyed, only converted from one form
to another.
LIFE

What is life?
LIFE
 LIFE
It is very difficult to have a correct definition of life (living thing
= life). However, life possesses a few basic properties that
help us define it. These properties are:
- Possesses an extremely complex organization (
complexity);
- Has the ability to perform metabolism;
- Has the ability to respond and be stimulated (stimuli) when
receiving information through the five senses;
- Has the ability to grow (growth), reproduce (reproduction),
and evolve (evolution)

Many forms of life exist such as plants, animals, fungi,

microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses.
 LIFE
1. Are crystals 3. Is the
living organisms? egg alive or dead?
 ENERGY AND LIFE
Energy Life

Thermodynamics of living systems

The thermodynamics of living systems is the field of

study researching energy effects, the conversion between
energy forms, the ability to progress, and the direction of
processes occurring within living systems.
Some basic concepts and quantities
System: A system is an object or a group of objects used
as the subject of study. For example, when choosing an
individual for study, the individual is a system, and when
choosing a population for study, the population is a system.

Isolated System: A system that has no exchange of matter

and energy between the system and its surroundings. In
reality, it is difficult to define a completely isolated system,
but scientists can design isolated systems at the
experimental scale.

Closed System: A system that does not exchange matter

with its surroundings but does exchange energy with its
surroundings.
Some basic concepts and quantities
Open System: A system that exchanges both matter and
energy with the surroundings.

Biological System/Living Organism: This is an open

system because it always exchanges matter and energy
with the surroundings. However, biological systems differ
from other open systems in three aspects:
- The living organism is a special form of existence of
proteins and other substances that make up the body.
- The body has the ability to self-replicate.
- The body has the ability to self-develop.
Some basic concepts and quantities
State Parameters: These are quantities that characterize
the state of a system, such as temperature, pressure,
volume, internal energy, entropy, etc.
Equilibrium State: A state in which the state parameters
reach a certain value and remain constant over time.
Equilibrium Process: A process in which the state
parameters change at such a slow rate that at every
moment the state of the system can be considered an
equilibrium state.
Isothermal, isobaric, and isochoric processes are
processes during which the temperature, pressure, and
volume remain constant throughout the entire process.
Some basic concepts and quantities
Reversible Process: A process of change that, when
returning to the initial state, is not accompanied by any
change in the surroundings.

Irreversible Process: A process of change that, when

returning to the initial state, causes a change in the
surroundings.

Internal Energy: The internal energy of an object includes

the kinetic energy of the moving molecules and the
potential energy of interaction due to the mutual
attraction and repulsion between molecules, along with the
energy of the atomic nucleus and the energy of the
electrons.
Some basic concepts and quantities

Energy: A measurable quantity, characterizing the level of

motion/activity of the system's matter. Energy reflects the
system's ability to do work. Units used to measure energy
are Calorie (Cal) or Joule (J).
Work and Heat: These are two forms of energy transfer
from one system to another.
- If the energy transfer from one system to another is
associated with the displacement of the system's
position, the transfer is done in the form of work.
- If the energy transfer from one system to another
increases the speed of molecular motion in the energy-
receiving system, the transfer is done in the form of heat.
THERMODYNAMICS OF LIVING SYSTEMS

Thermodynamic processes always adhere to

2 basic principles:

First Law of Thermodynamics

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The First Law of Thermodynamics

• Qualitative part: states that energy is not

lost but only transforms from one form to
another.

• Quantitative part: states that the energy

value is conserved (i.e., its value remains the
same when converted to heat quantity) when
changing from one form of energy to another.
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
Expression: ΔU = Q + A
ΔU: change in the object's internal energy (J)
ΔU = U2 – U1 (U2 is the object's internal energy in
the new state and U1 is the object's internal energy
in the initial state)
A (W): Mechanical work (J)
Q: Heat quantity (J)
The First Law of Thermodynamics
Some consequences of the First Law:
1. If the system changes through a closed cycle (where the
initial and final states are the same), the system's internal
energy will not change (U2 = U1 → ΔU = 0)
2. When heat is supplied to the system, if the system does not
perform work, all the heat received by the system will
increase its internal energy.
ΔU = U2 - U1 = Q + A, nếu Q = 0 → U2 - U1=A= -A’<0
3. When no heat is supplied to the system but the system
wants to perform work, the only way is to decrease the
system's internal energy.
ΔU = U2 - U1 = Q + A, nếu A = 0 → U2 - U1 = Q >0
The First Law of Thermodynamics
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
Applied to Living Systems
Heat Effect – Hess's Law
Hess's Law: The heat effect of chemical reactions
only depends on the form and state of the initial
and final substances, not on the path of conversion
(State Function).
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
Applied to Living Systems

Example: The reaction to create CO2 gas from

pure coal (carbon – C)
Q1 = Q2 + Q3
 First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
Verifying the First Law of Thermodynamics in Biological Systems)
❖ Verification by Lavoisier and Laplace (1780)

Food
mixture

Heat Q1 = Heat Q2
The experimental subject is the guinea pig. Burn a quantity of food equivalent to
The increase in temperature is used to the amount of food fed to the guinea
calculate the heat Q1 pig.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
Verifying the First Law of Thermodynamics in Biological Systems)

Conclusion: This demonstrates that the heat released

from biochemical reactions occurring within a living body is
completely equivalent to the heat released from oxidation
reactions occurring outside the living body.
(Energy is conserved)
 First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
Verifying the First Law of Thermodynamics in Biological Systems)

❖ Verification by Atwater and Rosa (in 1904)

A person was given a specific amount of food to consume,
and the heat effect of the food breakdown reactions
occurring in the human body over 24 hours was calculated.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
Verifying the First Law of Thermodynamics in Biological Systems)

An equivalent amount of food to that consumed

by the person was burned.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
Verifying the First Law of Thermodynamics in Biological Systems)

Result: The energy contained in the food and the energy

released after the body breaks down the food are
completely equivalent.

Q1 = Q2 = 1879 KCal
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

It is impossible to directly convert heat into

(mechanical) work.
According to the First Law, if a thermodynamic system
receives a quantity of heat Q without changing its internal
energy, the system must perform work A. However, living
organisms cannot produce work directly from heat
received from the outside; instead, it must be mediated by
high-energy molecules (compounds) such as ATP, etc.

Where is energy stored in a

molecule?
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

Energy transformation

K.E. photosynthesis Food Cellular P.E.

Sun (EM radiation) (Glucose) respiration (ATP, NADPH)
C6H12O6

Open-chain glucose Cyclic glucose

First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

• Chemical energy is the potential energy (PE)

found within the atoms, chemical bonds, and
subatomic particles of molecules.
• It can be the energy of both the electron
arrangement and the energy stored in the
chemical bonds.
• When chemical bonds are broken and new
bonds are formed, a chemical reaction occurs;
this is the only time chemical energy can be
observed and measured.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

ATP = adenosine triphosphate

First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a special energy storage

molecule. ATP is just an RNA nucleotide. The only
difference is that in a nucleic acid like RNA, each
nucleotide has one phosphate, but here there are three,
and it is these phosphate groups that give ATP its energy
storage property.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

ATP can be hydrolyzed in two ways:

Firstly, the removal of the terminal phosphate to form
adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate
(Pi), with the reaction::
ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi (release energy): PE → KE
• Secondly, the removal of a terminal diphosphate to
produce adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and
pyrophosphate.
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

Photosynthesis

❑ Consists of two stages:

Stage 1 : light dependence
Solar energy → Chemical energy (ATP, NADPH)
Stage 2: light independence
The Calvin cycle ( biosynthesis G3P – glucose precursor)
First Law of Thermodynamics:
Verification in Living Systems

Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy C6H12O6 + 6O2

Cellular
36ATP + 6H2O + 6CO2 respiration C6H12O6 + 6O2
First Law of Thermodynamics

The drawback of the First Law is that it does not indicate the
direction of the process involving the transformation of heat
and work, only the quantitative relationship between them
when they participate in a given process.
Principle 2 is independent and overcomes the limitations
of Principle 1:
- Determines the natural direction of a process, Indicates
when a spontaneous process will stop,
- Allows evaluation of the work-producing capability of
different thermodynamic systems.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics

In Physics:
Thompson’s statement: “It is impossible to
construct an engine that operates in a cycle and
produces work while receiving heat from only a
single source.”
Clausius’s statement: “Heat cannot
spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter
body.”
 The Second Law of Thermodynamics
In living systems:

How is energy in the body used (transformed)?

Transport things across membrane

DIFFUSION (active transport) Gradient

Biosynthesis
ENERGY Entropy
HYDROLYSIS REACTION

Movement A form of free

WORK energy
The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Biological Thermodynamics