van der Waals - the unseen force that holds objects together. What is van der Waals? you make ask, and why the fuss? van der Waals is a type of intermolecular force - a force that exists between two neighbouring molecules. First postulated by the Dutch physicist Johannes Diederick van der Waals in 1873, van der… Continue reading van der What?
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Why do cells need ATP?
One of the ways in which ATP is used in the cell is to transport vesicles from the Golgi apparatus to different parts of the cells. Vesicles act like postmen, carrying tagged proteins and lipids from the sorting office (Golgi) to the delivery address (around the cell). The postvan is a tiny motor protein called… Continue reading Why do cells need ATP?
How is photosynthesis linked to respiration?
Photosynthesis produces glucose using energy from sunlight. The total amount of glucose produced in photosynthesis is called Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). Some of this glucose is used for respiration, to produce ATP. ATP is used to help enzymes catalyze metabolic reactions in the cell. The rest of the glucose is available for plant growth (ie.… Continue reading How is photosynthesis linked to respiration?
Molecule of the week: ATP synthase
ATP synthase is the enzyme responsible for producing ATP in the last stage of oxidative phosphorylation. This diagram shows a detailed structure of ATP synthase, including the H+ channel through which the H+ ions flow down into the matrix, resulting in ATP production.
Chemistry Challenge
Who is up for a chemistry challenge? Answer to be posted next week. PCl3 + Cl2 <===> PCl5 Calculate the equilibrium conc of all 3 reagents, when initial concentration of PCl3 and Cl2 is 0.5 mol dm-3 and Kc = 64.
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