Unit 2 Reflection

       Unit 2 of biology was about the chemistry of life and chemistry is used to create the cells and other parts of living organisms. The theme of this unit were how chemistry is used to create matter and in turn biology. This included sub units about the the different carbon compounds, the properties of water, enzymes and chemical reactions. Learning about the different carbon compounds and enzymes were easy because the fundamental chemistry of them is based of off carbon connections and in the case of enzymes, proteins. the The macro molecule vodcasts clearly showed how different structures of carbon can create different molecules with different purposes. This included carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acid. The sweetness lab showed the difference between complex and simple carbohydrates and difference in taste between them.  In the messing with enzymes vodcast, it clearly explained the factors that effects enzymes and how they can be denatured. The experiment we did on cheese curdling was a very fun way to learn about how different environmental conditions can effect enzymes and to further our understanding of them. On the other hand, I had a hard time with the properties of water, in particularly polarity and how it allows water to easily combine with itself and other molecules. I still don't fully understand the meaning of polarity and weather other molecules not known as water can be polar. Despite doing the vodcast, it would have been nice to do an experiment on it to gain a further understanding on it. The properties that make water wet were easy to understand and I learned what they are, but polarity and how it effects water still confuse me. I learned from this unit how chemical reactions take place and how different conditions can effect what happens. This can help in the future with biology because chemical reactions and chemistry itself is very important in biology and chemical reactions happen at a microscopic level in cells to allow the body to properly function. One thing I want to learn more about besides polarity are ions. Despite knowing that hydrogen ions effect the pH level of compounds and molecules, I don't fully understand what an ion is and how it can make a compound a acid or a base. are there any molecules besides water that are neutral on the pH scale. I also want to know more about activation energy and how chemical reactions are able to absorb energy. How do they collect and harness the energy to create more chemical reactions? How is energy created from the breaking of chemical bonds? Are bonds created from matter or are they just a chemical attraction holding them together. These are some of the questions I have and things I wonder about.