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dinosaur5 dinosaur5
wrote...
13 years ago
I have a small presentation I have to do for my biology class and the topics were chosen at random. The point of the presentation is to connect the topics together and explain how they relate. My problem is that I can't find a relationship between the three topics to talk about.

The three topics are: Matter, Isotopes and Buffers

Relating everything to matter isn't hard but the other two I'm having trouble with. Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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wrote...
Valued Member
Educator
13 years ago
Hey dinosaur5, welcome to the forum.

I can see why you are having trouble answering this question.  Undecided

What I always do before starting an assignment, is define each term.

Matter is everything around you. Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass. Matter is also related to light and electromagnetic radiation.

An isotope is one of two or more forms of a chemical element having the same number of protons, or the same atomic number, but having different numbers of neutrons, or different atomic weights.

A buffer is a chemical substance that is used to keep an aqueous solution within certain range of pH.

Let's start with buffer. I'm just making this up as we go along.

In all multicellular organisms, such as humans, the fluid within the cell and the fluids surrounding the cells have a characteristic and nearly constant pH. This pH is maintained in a number of ways, and one of the most important is through buffer systems. Two important biological buffer systems are the dihydrogen phosphate system and the carbonic acid system.

Now lets link the highlighted chemicals with the term isotopes. Carbonic acid, for instance, is made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen (HCO). Carbon has as many as 15 isotopes! They all have an atomic number of 6, but differ in their atomic masses. Though they all have the same number of protons (6), each one differs in the number of neutrons, in the nucleus. Most of them are radioactive. Radioactivity indicates that these nuclei are unstable and decay by emitting ionizing radiation.

Uses of carbon are many! C12 being the most abundant of the three carbon isotopes and this element being the backbone of life on Earth, the uses of carbon are endless (Matter). All metabolic processes including the life sustaining processes of respiration and photosynthesis, are made possible by carbon based compounds. The fossil fuels are created from dead carbon based organic matter. All our energy needs are satisfied by carbon based crude oil and natural gas deposits. Read more on carbon cycle.

C13 has applications in NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), as it has a nuclear spin, which can respond to a radio frequency signal (as opposed to C12 which hasn't). Protein structure determination using NMR is made possible with the labeling of proteins with C13 atoms. In Earth science, C13 is used to determine identity of water sources by studying its ratio with respect to other carbon isotopes.

C14 is the radioactive isotope of carbon that is primarily used in radiocarbon dating technique. Using this technique, archaeologists can determine the age of carbon containing materials which are upto 60,00 years old. A knowledge of the half life of C14, along with the current ratio of C12 to C14, helps in determining the age of archeological objects.

So you see how I connect each subject together? Science is interrelated even when you don't think it is or see it at first glance Smiling Face with Open Mouth

Bio_man
dinosaur5 Author
wrote...
13 years ago
WOW! that was an incredibly helpful answer, very well written too.

Thanks a lot for the help!
wrote...
Valued Member
Educator
13 years ago
Pleasure  Smiling Face with Open Mouth

Don't forget to contribute to the other discussions if you have the time! Face with Rolling Eyes
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