Bioscience: Equilibrium, Physiology, and Intermolecular Forces

BIOSCIENCE 1
Bioscience
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation

BIOSCIENCE 2
Bioscience
PART A - 300 words +/- 10% (20 marks)
1) Consider the following reaction at equilibrium
Hb (aq) + (g) « Hb (aq)
(a) Explain what is meant by a reaction at equilibrium. (2 marks)
- Equal amount of rate and reaction is the same for the product and the formation, another
word the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are the same ("Equilibrium
Expressions", 2019).
(b) In the lungs, where there is a high concentration of O2, in which direction will
equilibrium shift? (1 mark)
- Oxygen is transported throughout the body within the blood by haemoglobin (product).
High oxygen concentration shifts equilibrium to the right.
(c) In the tissues, where there is a low concentration of O2, in which direction will
equilibrium shift? (1 mark)
- Equilibrium shifts to the left at low CO2 concentration.
(d) In which direction will the equilibrium shift if there is a lower than normal level of
Hb in blood? (1 mark)
- Decreasing Hb concentration shifts equilibrium to the left
(e) Name and briefly explain the principle you applied in answering b) - d). (2 marks)
- La chaterlier's Principle, which states that changes taking place in a system in equilibrium
(pressure, temperature, or concentration) shifts equilibrium to the opposite direction to
counter that change. This restores the system to balance.

BIOSCIENCE 3
2) Write the equilibrium constant expression for the reaction shown in question 1.
(2 marks)
- K = [ HbO2 ]
[ Hb ] ¿ ¿
3) Calculate the equilibrium constant using the following concentrations
[Hb] = 1.15 x 10−4M, [O2] = 6.4 x 101M and [ HbO2] = 3.33 x 10−2M.
Your answer should be presented to two decimal places in exponential notation.
(2 marks)
- K = à K = à = 4.52M
4) K values can be small, large or intermediate (close to 1). Explain what these values
indicate in terms of the reaction, and reactants and products at equilibrium. (6
marks)
- K values greater than 1 indicate products in large number in mixture.
- K valueless than 1 indicates presence of reactants in
- K values equal to 1 shows availability of same amount of products and reactants in a
mixture
5) Explain the necessary requirements for a chemical reaction to take place. (3 marks)
- A chemical reaction takes place in three parts. Otherwise referred to us the collision
theory, it holds that the collision of reacting particles must occur in correct energy
orientations (Gianturco, 2012).
PART B - 600 words +/- 10% (30 marks)
Physiology is affected by environmental conditions. The consequences of a sudden change in
altitude dramatize this fact. At an altitude of 3 km the partial pressure of oxygen is only 0.14
atm, compared with 0.2 atm at sea level. Flying from San Francisco, which is at sea level, to
Mexico City where the elevation is 2.3 km or scaling a 3 km mountain in two days can cause