Covalent Bonds - MCAT Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

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Diffusion can be defined as the net transfer of molecules down a gradient of differing concentrations. This is a passive and spontaneous process and relies on the random movement of molecules and Brownian motion. Diffusion is an important biological process, especially in the respiratory system where oxygen diffuses from alveoli, the basic unit of lung mechanics, to red blood cells in the capillaries.

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Figure 1 depicts this process, showing an alveoli separated from neighboring cells by a capillary with red blood cells. The partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide are given. One such equation used in determining gas exchange is Fick's law, given by:

ΔV = (Area/Thickness) · Dgas · (P1 – P2)

Where ΔV is flow rate and area and thickness refer to the permeable membrane through which the gas passes, in this case, the wall of the avlveoli. P1 and P2 refer to the partial pressures upstream and downstream, respectively. Further, Dgas­, the diffusion constant of the gas, is defined as:

Dgas = Solubility / (Molecular Weight)^(1/2)

Carbon dioxide and oxygen have which type of intra-molecular bonds?

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Answer

Note how this question has little to do with the passage. Often you will see questions like this on the MCAT. This is a simple, straightforward vocabulary question. The bonds between each compound are covalent. One might get confused and misunderstand the question to read inter-molecular bonds—those between different molecules—as opposed to the bonds within a molecule.

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