Download Calcium

How do different substances
support or harm living things?
Organic & Inorganic Substances
• chemicals are part of EVERYTHING
• all living things need chemicals and
produce them
• chemicals are classified as organic or
inorganic
Inorganic Chemicals
• elements/compounds found in nature
• not combined with carbon (but may be C alone)
• come mainly from the soil (some from air)
• fertilizers are added to soil to improve
nutrients
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Sulfur
What’s important to a plant?
Photosynthesis
(phosphorus & magnesium)
Chlorophyll
Flowers (phosphorus)
(potassium,
magnesium &
nitrogen)
Fruits & Grains
(sulfur)
Leaves & Stems
Resistance to
Disease & Starch
Production
(potassium &
nitrogen)
Cell Structure
(potassium)
(calcium)
Roots (phosphorus)
What’s important to us?
Body
Functions
Muscles
Bones &
Teeth
Blood
Nervous
System
Calcium
Potassium
Nitrogen
Nitrogen
Calcium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Magnesium
Sulfur
Calcium
Phosphorus
Calcium
Nutrient
Importance in PLANTS Importance in HUMANS
Nitrogen
(N)
- in chlorophyll & proteins
- helps leaf and stem growth
- in proteins & nucleic acids
- helps growth and repair of body tissue
Phosphorus
(P)
- in root and flower growth
- helps cellular respiration &
photosynthesis
- in bones, teeth & DNA
- helps metabolic reactions
Potassium
(K)
- helps early growth,
chlorophyll production, starch
production, and resistance
to disease
- helps muscle contraction & nerve
impulses
Magnesium
(Mg)
- helps chlorophyll structure &
photosynthesis
- in bones & teeth
Calcium
(Ca)
- helps cell wall structure &
cell division
- in bones & teeth
- helps blood clotting and muscle &
nerve function
Sulfur
(S)
- helps production of fruits
grains
- helps protein synthesis, enzyme
activation and detoxification
It’s a Balancing Act
• we must get just the right amount
of inorganic chemicals
– to much or to little can be harmful
• macronutrients (>100 mg/day)
e.g. nitrogen, calcium, potassium
• micronutrients (< 100 mg/day)
e.g. zinc, iron, boron
Organic Chemicals
• carbon combined with other elements
• building blocks for life
• 4 elements are most common
Synthesizing Organic
Substances
• plants & animals can create some of the
organic substances needed for life
made up of building blocks called
amino acids
10 essential amino acids must be ingested
every day (they are not stored)
What About Vitamins?
• large organic molecules that help
enzymes function
E
D
B’s
A
C
How do we take in substances?
• Uptake by Plants
– through roots (passive or active)
– diffusion → water & nutrients
flow from higher concentration
(in soil) to lower concentration
(in roots)
– active transport → plant really
needs a nutrient and so “sucks”
it in from surrounding soil
moisture (nutrients go from area of
lower concentration in soil to higher
concentration in roots)
• Uptake by Animals
– we eat, drink and breath
– ingestion: the process to taking in food
• food is chewed and then digestion is helped by
enzymes in mouth, stomach & small intestine
– hydrolysis: a special process
• large organic molecules (like starch) are broken
down by reacting with water
– nutrients are absorbed through cell
membranes and then transported by blood to
where they are needed
Substrate and Nutrient Sources
• organisms get nutrients from
environment(s) in which they live
• substrate is the material on which an
organism moves or lives
– attach to substrate
– live off substrate
– move over/through substrate
What about Chemicals?
• living things depend on chemicals to
survive
– photosynthesis is used by plants to create
food
– cellular respiration is used by plants and
animals to provide energy from food
• but not all chemicals are good
Pollution
any accumulation of unwanted waste matter
in the environment
(natural or man made)
• fertilizer
– to much or wrong
place
• pesticides
– insecticide
– herbicide
– fungicide
• solid & liquid waste
– landfill
– water treatment
• air emsission
– combustion
– incineration
Bioaccumulation &
Biomagnification