Chapter 9, Problem 1RQ

Name three vital properties of water in living cells.

The pH of black coffee is 5, and that of milk of magnesia is 10. Is the coffee twice as acidic as milk of magnesia?

Plasma contains more sodium than chloride. How can this be if individual ions of sodium and chloride exactly balance each other out, and plasma is electrically neutral?

Why are hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions necessary for cells?

When you do a load of laundry, why do you not just drop a bar of soap Into the washing machine? In other words, why is laundry detergent sold as a liquid or powder?

In a hurry one day, you merely rinse your lunch dishes with water. As you are drying your salad bowl, you notice that it still has an oily film. Why was the water alone not effective in cleaning the bowl?

a. Can a mutation change a proteins tertiary structure without changing its primary structure? b. Can a mutation change a proteins primary structure without affecting its secondary structure?

On his midsummer trek through the desert, Josh ran out of water. Why is this particularly dangerous?