Putting It Together: Chemistry of Life

As we’ve just learned, chemistry is essential to life: we are all made of compounds and molecules. Think back to the beginning of this chapter, where we briefly discussed the term carbon-based life. In the video below, we’ll learn about why carbon is so essential to life:

Occupation Spotlight: Nutritionists

Let’s look back to our earlier occupation spotlight on the nutritionist. You should now be able see how an understanding of chemistry is essential to this job: a nutritionist needs to understand how the body builds complex molecules from the food a person ingests. A nutritionist also should understand how energy is used and moved about in the body. All this requires a basic understanding of elements, their structures, and how they interact.