An Introduction to Molecules

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https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/nutritionscience/chapter/1b-introduction-to-molecules/

 An Introduction to Molecules

In order to understand the chemical structure of nutrients and how they function in the body and provide energy to cells of the body, you must first understand the basic chemical structure of molecules.

 Nutrient are chemical molecules that are found in foods and required by our bodies to maintain life and support growth and health. 

 On this page, we’ll zoom in to understand how atoms bond together to form these chemical molecules.

 

The Atom

is anything that has mass and takes up space. 

All living and nonliving things are composed of matter. are the fundamental unit of matter. 

The chair you are sitting in is made of atoms. The food you ate for lunch was built from atoms. 

Even the air you breathe is made of atoms. 

An atom is the smallest unit of an element, just like a blade is the smallest unit of grass.

 An is made entirely from one specific type of atom. There are more than 100 elements that make up the world we live in, however hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen make up the bulk of all living things. 

Many elements are found in the foods we eat and all of them are found on the Periodic Table of Elements.

 

Figure 1.2. The Periodic Table of Elements. Note the four elements circled in blue (hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen). These four elements make up the bulk of all living things.

Atoms are unimaginably small. Even within a single microscopic cell, there is room for not just billions, but trillions or even hundreds of trillions of atoms.

 The atoms themselves are made of even smaller particles called Proton ,neutrons and electrons

, , . 

 Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus (center) of the atom, while electrons are found outside the nucleus in regions called shells. 

Protons have a positive charge, neutrons have no charge, and electrons are negatively charged.  

Because protons and neutrons are contained in the dense nucleus of the atom, the nucleus has a positive charge.

 And since opposites attract, electrons are attracted to this nucleus and move around it in an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus. This attraction keeps the atom together, much like the force of gravity keeps the moon in orbit around Earth.