A LOOK AT THE BODY CHEM

• This chapter covers the chemical composition of the body, the structure of an atom, and differences between inorganic and organic compounds
• The human body is composed of chemicals; all of its activities are chemical in nature
• Understanding chemistry is essential to understand the human body and its functions
• The chemical level is the simplest and most important level of structural organization
• Without the proper chemicals in the proper amounts, body cells—and eventually the body itself—would die
• Every cell contains thousands of different chemicals that constantly interact with one another
• Differences in chemical composition differentiate types of body tissue
• The blueprints of heredity (DNA and RNA) are encoded in chemical form
• Matter


  Anything that has mass and occupies space; it may be a solid, liquid, or gas
• Energy


  The capacity to do work; it may be potential energy (stored energy) or kinetic energy (the energy of motion)
• Types of energy

  • Chemical
  • Electrical
  • Radiant
• Element


  Matter that can't be broken down into simpler substances by normal chemical reactions
• All forms of matter are composed of chemical elements
• Each of the chemical elements in the periodic table has a chemical symbol
• Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen account for 96% of the body's total weight
• Calcium and phosphorus account for another 2.5% of the body's total weight