CHEMISTRY PREPARATION SESSION 1

Course: CHEM PREPARATION

Delivered: Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Instructor: Mr. Carlos Ortiz

TBCB: Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Student: PAOLA RIVAS

ETTC: Approx. 15-20 min

If at first you dont succeed, then

skydiving is not for you.
ANON

Paola, have you ever wondered how a baby in the womb gets oxygen? Unlike you and me, a fetus does not
breathe air. Yet, like you and me, a fetus needs oxygen. Where does that oxygen come from? OKAY, before
we answer this question, lets go over a very quick review of how YOU and I get our oxygen:

Well, after we are born, we inhale air into our lungs and that air diffuses into capillaries (the
smallest circulatory vessels in our bodies), and there it comes into contact with our blood. Within our
red blood cells, a very specialized protein called hemoglobin (Hb) then reacts with oxygen according
to the chemical equation:

Hb + O 2

HbO 2

The double arrows in this equation indicate that the reaction can occur in both the forward AND
reverse directions and can reach chemical equilibrium. Every reaction at equilibrium has an
equilibrium constant associated with it we use the letter K to represent this constant and once
we start to understand it and learn how to CALCULATE, well see that it provides us with valuable
information about the reaction.

The equilibrium constant, K, for the reaction between hemoglobin and oxygen is such:

that hemoglobin efficiently binds oxygen at typical lung oxygen concentrations,

but

it can also release oxygen under the appropriate conditions.

Any system at equilibrium, including the hemoglobin- oxygen system, RESPONDS to changes in
ways that maintain equilibrium.
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If any of the concentrations of the reactants or products change, the reaction shifts to
counteract that change.

For our hemoglobin system, as blood flows through the lungs where oxygen concentrations
are high, the equilibrium shifts to the right we observe that hemoglobin binds oxygen:

we say the reaction ____________________________

As blood flows out of the lungs and into muscles and organs where oxygen concentrations
have been depleted (because muscles and organs use oxygen), the equilibrium shifts to the left
we observe that hemoglobin releases oxygen:

we say the reaction ____________________________

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 1 of 8

In other words, in order to maintain equilibrium:

1) hemoglobin binds oxygen when the surrounding oxygen concentration
is high,
but
2) it releases oxygen when the surrounding oxygen concentration is low.
In this way, hemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs (where it BINDS
IT TIGHTLY) to all parts of the body (WHERE IT RELEASES IT) that use
oxygen.

BACK TO THE QUESTION OF HOW A FETUS GETS OXYGEN:

A fetus has its own circulatory system. The mother's blood never flows into the fetus's body, and the
fetus cannot get any air in the womb. How, then, does the fetus get oxygen?
The answer lies in the properties of another type of hemoglobin called fetal hemoglobin (HbF), which
is slightly different from adult hemoglobin. Like adult hemoglobin, fetal hemoglobin is in equilibrium
with oxygen:

Hbf + O 2

HbfO 2

However, the equilibrium constant, K, for fetal hemoglobin is larger than the equilibrium constant for
adult hemoglobin, meaning that the reaction tends to go farther in the direction of the product
(HbfO2).
HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT THE FETUS?
Well, the fetal hemoglobin (Hbf) is able to LOAD oxygen at a lower oxygen concentration than does
adult hemoglobin. In the placenta, fetal blood flows in close proximity to maternal blood. Although
the two never mix, because of the different equilibrium constants, the maternal hemoglobin releases
oxygen that the fetal hemoglobin then binds and carries into its own circulatory. Nature has evolved
a chemical system through which the mother's hemoglobin can in effect hand off oxygen to the
hemoglobin of the fetus.

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 2 of 8

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 3 of 8

PRACTICE 1: Consider the following reaction which will eventually reach

equilibrium.

CH 3OH

(g)

CO ( g ) + 2H 2 ( g )

a) Express the equilibrium constant for the chemical equation:

b) Graph the rates of the forward and reverse reactions vs. time.

c) Graph the concentrations of all species (reactants and products) with

time). Experimental results show that the concentrations of each at
equilibrium are: [CH3OH] = 0.200 M, [CO] = 0.800 M, [H2] = 1.600 M.

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 4 of 8

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 5 of 8

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 6 of 8

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 7 of 8

CHEMISTRY PREPARATION DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM & THE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

Mr. Carlos Ortiz | PAOLA RIVAS
Copyright 2016 Carlos Ortiz / 305.785.5005 / carlos@mrcarlosortiz.com

TOPICS = EQUILIBRIUM
page 8 of 8