Biology Chemistry of Life

Acid

A chemical substance that neutralizes alkalis, dissolves some metals, and turns litmus red; typically, a corrosive or sour-tasting liquid of this kind.

Activation Energy

The minimum quantity of energy which the reacting species must posses in order to undergo a specified reaction.

Adhesion

the action or process of adhering to a surface or object.

Amino Acid

A simple organic compound containing both carboxyl, (-COOH) and an amino (-NH2) group.

Atom

The basic unit of a chemical element.

Base

A substance that decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution.

Buffer

A person or thing that prevent incompatible or antagonistic people or things from coming into contact with or harming each other.

Carbohydrate

Any of a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues and including sugars, starch, and cellulose. They contain hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water(2:1) and typically can be broken down to release energy in the animal body.

Catalyst

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.

Cohesion

The action or fact of forming a united whole.

Compound

A thing that is composed of two or more separate elements; a mixture.

Covalent Bond

The mutual sharing of one or more pairs of electrons between two atoms.

Electron

A stable subatomic particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all atoms and acting as the primary carrier of electricity in solids.

Element

Each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter. Each element of distinguished by its atomic number, i.e. the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms.