Chemical Basis of Life

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Physical Matter Properties - Chemical Matter Properties
Physical matter properties include color, odor, density, melting point, boiling point and hardness. Physical properties are divided into intensive and extensive properties. Intensive properties are used to identify a substance and do not depend upon the amount of substance (density). Extensive properties depend on the quantity of the substance (mass, volume). Chemical matter properties include flammability and reactivity.
The physical and chemical properties of matter. Elements and Compounds
Elements and compounds are differentiated by their composition. Elements cannot be decomposed into simpler substances. Compounds are composed of two or more elements, but the chemical identities and properties of these elements change when they form a compound. Mixtures on the other hand are composed of elements which retain their chemical identities.
The differences between elements and compounds. Chemistry Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are macromolecules composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Biologists are interested incarbohydrates because they serve as energy storage and as structural frameworks within cells. Simple carbohydrates consist of only 1 or 2 monomers, or monosaccharide's, while complex carbohydrates, or polysaccharides, are chains of monomers. Some types of carbohydrates are sugars, starches and cellulose. Plants manufacture carbohydrates through photosynthesis.
An introduction to chemistry carbohydrates. Fats and Lipids
Fats and lipids are large organic molecules which are used for energy storage and which make up the which make up the lipid bi-layer of the plasma membrane of cells. Lipids have hydrophobic tails which are composed of chains of hydrocarbons and hydrophilic heads which are composed of a carboxyl group. A lipid monomer is either glycerol and fatty acids or a steroid core. Types of lipids include triglycerides (fats) and phospholipids (e.g. soap
The description of a lipid.