Basic Chemistry All things in the universe including living things are composed of one or more elements the fundamental building blocks of matter Matter is anything that occupies space and has mass An element is a substance that cannot be divided into simpler substances by chemical reactions Although over 100 elements have been identified only a few of them make up living organisms carbon hydrogen oxygen nitrogen calcium phosphorous iron sodium and potassium Of these the four elements that constitute about 96 of our body weight are carbon hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen Chemistry is the science that studies the composition of matter Inorganic chemistry studies the composition of non living substances that generally do not contain carbon Organic chemistry studies the carbon based chemistry or biochemistry of the living organism An understanding of the atomic structure bonding behavior of elements and structure of the most abundant organic molecules carbohydrates proteins lipids and nucleic acids is basic to comprehending the physiology of the body as a whole The following exercises may be completed by referring to Chapter 2 in your text and by using the molecular model kits in the laboratory Exercise 1 Inorganic Chemistry Give the chemical symbols for each of the following elements oxygen iodine calcium Magnesium carbon hydrogen sodium chlorine potassium nitrogen phosphorus iron Draw the orbital diagram of an atom using the carbon atom as an example Describe the particles that make up the atom by giving their mass electrical charge and location within the atom