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Chapter 2 Looking for Life on Mars
Chemistry and Molecules of Life –
Mission to Mars
• To look for life on Mars you must first ask “What
is Life?”
Biology 1101: Fundamentals of Biology
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Driving Questions
What is Life?
• What is the definition of life? • Is it alive?
• What do you see that makes you think it IS/IS NOT a
• How is matter organized into molecules of living
living organism?
organisms?
• How could Martian life be recognized?
• What is the basic structural unit of life?
• Why is water so important for life and living
organisms?
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Mars Landing 2012 Living Things
• Curiosity
• August 2012 • Functional traits in common
• Perseverance • Growth
• February 2021 • Reproduction
• Can Mars once have supported • Homeostasis
life? • Sense & respond to stimuli
• Obtain & use energy
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Growth Ability to Obtain and Use Energy
• Unicellular organisms
• Living organisms require an input of energy to
• Increase in cell size prior to reproduction power activities
• Multicellular organisms • Obtain energy
• Increase in the organism's size as the number of • Food (Molecules)
cells making up the organism increases • Sunlight
• Chemical reactions convert energy into useable
forms
• Metabolism is all the chemical reactions
occurring in the living organism
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Reproduction Sense and Response to Stimuli
• The process of producing new organisms • Organisms respond to stimuli
• Not necessarily identical to parents • Move towards a food source
• Similarities in general structure, function, & • Move away from a predator
properties
• Evolve - change over time
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Homeostasis Correct Definition of Life?
• The maintenance of a relatively constant internal • Become a topic of debate
environment (dynamic state of equilibrium) among scientist
• Even with changes to the external environment • Difficulties
• Our experience with life
is limited to familiar
Earth life Mules cannot reproduce
• Definitions of life do not
always hold true
• The cell theory states that all
living organisms are made of
cells Fire grows and uses energy
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Does “life” always follow the rules? How NASA Determines Life on Mars
• Looking for chemical building blocks that are
Prions necessary to life
They are non-cellular and
self-reproducing protein, • All life we know of use the same basic chemical
infectious agent. recipe:
1. Carbon-based (organic) compounds
2. Water (H2O)
Virus
An infectious agent made of
a protein shell that encodes
genetic material. They
require a host to reproduce.
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Viruses Chemicals
• Matter
• Anything that takes up space & has mass
• Elements
• Chemically pure substances
• Cannot be chemically broken down
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Are Viruses Alive? Chemicals
• Atoms
• Smallest unit if an element
• Made of 3 subatomic particles:
• Protons
• Neutron
• Electrons
[Link]
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Atomic Structure Carbon
• Nucleus • Versatile component of life’s molecules
• Dense core • Fourth most common element in the universe
• Located in nucleus • Second most common element in humans
• Protons
• Positively charged (+)
• Neutrons
• Uncharged
• Electrons
• Negatively charged (-)
• Negligible mass
• Orbit around nucleus (electron
shells)
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Periodic Table of Elements Outer Shell Electrons - Unstable
• When outer shell is not
full, the atom is not
considered stable
• Even though it is
neutral
• Protons =
Electrons
• +6 + -6 = Neutral
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Periodic Table of Elements Electron Shells
• Represents all known elements on • The 2-2-8 Rule
earth
• Positioned by atomic number
• # of protons found in the nucleus
• # of protons = # of electrons
• Change the number of protons,
change the element
• Atomic mass
• Adding the number of protons &
neutrons
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Outer Shell Electrons (Valence) - Example Molecules
• Molecule
• Hydrogen
• Two or more atoms
• Atomic # = 1
linked together by
• How many electrons sharing electrons
1
in outer shell?
• Organic Molecules
• Carbon • Contain carbon-based
• Atomic # = 6 backbones
• How many electrons • At least one C-H bond
in outer shell? • Inorganic Molecules
• Foundation of chemical • Lack carbon-based
bonds 4 backbones
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Covalent bonds
Is it Organic or Inorganic?
• Strong chemical bond resulting when two or more B
A
atoms SHARE electrons to become stable
• Carbon can form 4 covalent bonds
C
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Covalent bonds Molecules of Life
• Nonpolar covalent bonds – equally share electrons • 4 groups of complex organic macromolecules make up
(equally distributed) living organisms on earth
• Polar covalent bonds – unequally share electrons
1. Carbohydrates
(unequal distribution)
• Results in atoms that have partial charges 2. Proteins
3. Lipids
4. Nucleic Acids
• The food we eat was once living
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Molecules of Life Protein Folding
• Macromolecules: Large organic molecules that make • Proteins have
up living organisms unique three-
• Most composed of monomers – 1 chemical subunit dimensional (3-D)
• Linked to form a polymer – chain of monomers structure
Polymer
• Must have
appropriate
structure to
function
Monomer
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Carbohydrates Nucleic Acids
• Made up of one or more sugar monomer
• Monosaccharide – one sugar monomer • Monomer – Nucleotides
• Functions • Phosphate group (PO4)
• Energy-storing molecules
• Sugar
• Structural support
• Nitrogenous base
• 5 different bases
• A, G, C, T, & U
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Proteins Nucleic Acids
• Function
• Monomer - amino acids (20
• Storage, transmission, and execution of genetic
types) instructions
• Many functions
• Speed up chemical
reactions
• Move things in and out
of the cell
• Movement of cells
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Lipids Follow the Water
• Nonpolar hydrophobic (fear of water) molecules • In search for extraterrestrial life, astrobiologists often
• Different lipids with different functions & use the rule of thumb “Follow the Water”
structures • Crucial to life on Earth
• NO monomers • Makes up 75% of a cell’s weight
• Example • Up to 60% of our body’s weight
• Cholesterol
• Triglycerides (fat) Cholesterol
• Steroids
• Phospholipids
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Function of Lipids: The Cell Water Molecules
• Basic structural unit of living organisms
• Water (H20) is a polar molecule
• All cells have some basic architecture
• Electrons are not evenly
shared (polar covalent bond)
• Oxygen holds on to them
tighter
• Bent (planar) shape
• Oxygen in partially negative,
while hydrogen is partially
positive
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Cell boundaries Hydrogen Bonds
• A weak electrical attraction between a partially
• Semi-permeable membrane positive hydrogen atom and an atom with a partial
• Double layer (bilayer) of negative charge
phospholipids • Electrostatic attractions - “opposites attract”
• Form a boundary of the cell
• Separates the contents from Hydrogen Bond
the environment
δ- Polar Covalent Bond
• Phospholipids
• Hydrophilic (water ) head
δ+
• Hydrophobic (water ) tail
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Properties of Water Properties of Water
• Universal solvent
• Polarity make water “sticky”
• Other substances can dissolve in it (called solutes)
• Cohesion: Surface tension, • Thus, water transports solutes from place to place
water molecules sticking to
water molecules through • Life is a water-based solution
hydrogen bonding • All life’s chemical reactions take place in water
• Adhesion: Makes surfaces
wet, water molecules sticking
to other surfaces that have
charge through hydrogen
bonding
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Properties of Water Properties of Water
• Solutions
• Absorbs heat • “Like” dissolves “like”
• Water needs lots of energy before vaporizes • Polar water dissolves polar and charged
• Because of hydrogen bonds – molecules hold on to atoms/molecules
each other
• Nonpolar solvent dissolves nonpolar molecules
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Properties of Water Ionic Bonds
• Density • Polar molecules and charged atoms/molecules
dissolve well in water
• Ice floats because water
is less dense • Ions: Atoms that have an electrical charge
(compacted) as a solid • Ionic Bonds: A strong electrical attraction between
oppositely charged ions formed by the transfer of
one or more electrons from one atom to another
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Ionic Bonds pH
• The concentration of
• Transfer of electrons results in a charge atom hydrogen ions (H+),
also called protons in
• Gain an electron, become negatively charged a solution
• Lose an electron, become positively charged
• Ranges from 0 -14
• 0 – Acidic
• 14 – Basic
• Pure water pH = 7
• Neutral
• OH- = H+
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Charged Substance and Water pH
• Acidic solutions
• pH less than (<) 7
• Release H+
• Acid food often taste sour
• Basic solutions
• pH more than (>) 7
• Absorbs H+
• Basic food often taste bitter
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Water Review pH
• As acidity increases, proton (H+) concentration goes
up ↑, pH goes down ↓
• As acidity decreases, proton (H+) concentration goes
down ↓, pH goes up ↑
Properties of Water
[Link]
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Acids and Bases
What is the atomic number of lithium
• Strong acids & bases are highly reactive which has 3 protons and 3 neutrons
• Destructive to molecules within a cell A. 1
• Most reactions take place at a certain pH B. 3
• Living things are sensitive to pH C. 4
D. 6
• Specific pH range (human blood, pH of 7.35-7.45) E. 9
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For an element to have no charge (be
neutral), which must be equivalent in
number?
Review What You A. subatomic particles and electrons
Learned B. subatomic particles and protons
C. electrons and neutrons
D. neutrons and protons
E. protons and electrons
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How many electrons does oxygen
Which of these is NOT a necessary
(atomic number = 8) contain in its outer
characteristic of life?
valence shell?
A. ability to grow
A. 2
B. ability to move around in the environment
B. 3
C. ability to reproduce
C. 4
D. ability to respond to stimuli
D. 6
E. ability to use energy
E. 8
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Match up macromolecules with their
structural units.
1. Carbohydrates a. Nucleotides
2. Proteins b. Hydrophobic molecules
3. Lipids c. Amino acids
4. Nucleic Acids d. Monosaccharides
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The hydrogen bonds between water
molecules are
A. ionic.
B. covalent.
C. strong.
D. weak.
E. repellent.
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A solution with a pH less than 7 is
called a(n) _____________ and has a
higher number of ___________ than a
solution with a pH greater than 7.
A. base; H+
B. acid; H+
C. base; OH–
D. acid; OH–
E. base; both H+ and OH–
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