Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Is Chemistry related to Physics and Biology?

YES!

EVERY biological process that I can think of has some sort of chemistry connection, even ones that look like they have nothing to do with chemistry -- from how you move and how our brains work, to the way we talk about what DNA and RNA look like as molecules, to evolution and ecology.

Case in point:

Muscle movement --
The nerve impulses that your brain send for muscle movement are all based on moving ions in and out neurons/nerve cells, which in turn activate a class of molecules called neurotransmitters that activate the next set of neurons. One way to look at this is that it's almost like playing telephone with molecules.

Your muscles themselves are made of protein. Again a whole bunch of chemistry there. Blood flowing in and out of your muscles bring in oxygen and take out carbon dioxide (and of course many other molecules/ions/etc.) -- all in service of keeping the cells in there functioning.

Those sore muscles that you feel, especially if you haven't worked out in awhile, is a buildup of lactic acid -- because glucose was being broken down through an anaerobic (no oxygen required) pathway. That pathway is a series of chemical reactions, all of which require multiple molecules.

(etc.)

Especially when you look at energy exchanges in reactions, principles of physics come into play. The way that molecules move and the way that protons, electrons, etc. play out in an atom -- all in the realm of physics (albeit not necessarily the physics you learn in an intro physics class). There is a branch of chemistry called physical chemistry. For that matter, biology and physics are related to each other too -- people who study, say, how organisms move.

The distinctions among physics, chemistry, and biology are arbitrary. They are all interconnected.

Yes. Chemistry is seen as the bridge between the other two.

Chemistry is linked through physics by being able to measure stuff. Rates of reaction, thermodynamics, these are all measurable, so they link to physics. The branch of chemistry dealing with these is physical chemistry.

Biology is highly dependent on chemistry. Chemical reactions, catalysis (enzymes), they are everywhere in living beings. This area is biochemistry.

All branches of science are interdependent, even if they are as of yet unknown

The three subjects are interrelated actually. Each performs a specific role to each other. In this case, physics is related to biology, in a way that the former have a hand in determining the external movement patterns of life forms, their speed, agility, muscular endurance, power, and coordination of organisms and even its physiological aspects, to the tiniest of cells and protozoa. Everything that moves, physics is concerned about, and biology is no exception. Physics is related to chemistry, in a way that physics is also concerned about how atoms and molecules react, or in other words, move, when subjected to pressure and another chemical. The fizzing, bubbling, and smoking of substances, we can apply the laws of physics to these. Physics can be associated practically with everything.

Physics related to biology with the mean of motion, movement, flow of cureent and voltage within the neurons etc....

Physics related to chemistry at the level of atom only

(Sources:)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080724130253AAUqZXO