What kind of atoms are in every living thing?

If we took a sample of all living matter, put it in a blender, and further broke it down into its simplest parts we would have the elements.  Currently 94 elements have been identified on earth.  All matter that we know of is made up of one or more of these elements.  You may have seen these elements listed in a periodic table like the one below (note the table has 118 elements – those past number 94 have been made by researchers and may or may not exist in nature).

However, out of those 94 elements, the vast majority (over 98%!) of the human body (and the bodies of other plants and animals) is made up of only 6 of them. These most common biological elements are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.

Astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson speaks about the beauty of what we are made of in this video:

When you look at the ingredients of the universe the #1 ingredient is hydrogen, next is helium…oxygen, carbon nitrogen. … What are we made of?… The fact that you rank the atoms in the human body, with the exception of helium, which is chemically inert…(look at the top ingredients of the human body)…[it] matches the universe.…

So we’ve learned in the last 50 years that, of course, not only do we exist in this universe, it is the universe itself that exists within us.”

One tiny piece of an element is called an atom. An atom is the smallest portion of an element that has the properties of that element.  An atom contains a nucleus with positive and uncharged particles (protons and neutrons, respectively), and has negatively charged electrons that circle the nucleus.

The electrons of one atom can interact with electrons of other atoms and form chemical bonds.  When two or more atoms of the same or different elements bond together they form molecules.  The way these atoms are arranged into molecules impacts their properties and functions.  One of the simplest molecules you may be familiar with is water, a molecule in which two hydrogen atoms are bound to an oxygen atom.

In biological organisms there are some important categories of molecules (called biomolecules) that are found in all forms of life.  We will highlight a few of the biomolecule categories here, including:

• Sugars
• Nucleic acids
• Amino acids
• Fatty acids

An atom is the smallest component of an element that retains all of the chemical properties of that element. For example, one hydrogen atom has all of the properties of the element hydrogen, such as it exists as a gas at room temperature, and it bonds with oxygen to create a water molecule. Hydrogen atoms cannot be broken down into anything smaller while still retaining the properties of hydrogen. If a hydrogen atom were broken down into subatomic particles, it would no longer have the properties of hydrogen.

All atoms contain protons, electrons, and neutrons (Figure 1). The only exception is hydrogen (H), which is made of one proton and one electron. A proton is a positively charged particle that resides in the nucleus (the core of the atom) of an atom. An electron is a negatively charged particle that travels in the space around the nucleus. In other words, it resides outside of the nucleus. Neutrons, like protons, reside in the nucleus of an atom. The positive (protons) and negative (electrons) charges balance each other in a neutral atom, which has a net zero charge.

At the most basic level, all organisms are made of a combination of atoms. They contain atoms that combine together to form molecules. In multicellular organisms, such as animals, molecules can interact to form cells that combine to form tissues, which make up organs. These combinations continue until entire multicellular organisms are formed.

Each element has its own unique properties. An element is a substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. Different elements have different melting and boiling points, and are in different states (liquid, solid, or gas) at room temperature. They also combine in different ways. Some form specific types of bonds, whereas others do not. How they combine is based on the number of electrons present. Because of these characteristics, the elements are arranged into the periodic table of elements, a chart of the elements that includes the atomic number and relative atomic mass of each element. The periodic table also provides key information about the properties of elements (Figure 2) —often indicated by color-coding. The arrangement of the table also shows how the electrons in each element are organized and provides important details about how atoms will react with each other to form molecules.

Isotopes are different forms of the same element that have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons. Some elements, such as carbon, potassium, and uranium, have naturally occurring isotopes. Carbon-12, the most common isotope of carbon, contains six protons and six neutrons. Carbon-14 contains six protons and eight neutrons. These two alternate forms of carbon are isotopes. Some isotopes are very stable. Other isotopes are unstable and will lose protons, other subatomic particles, or energy to form more stable elements. These unstable isotopes are called radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes.

Figure 2Arranged in columns and rows based on the characteristics of the elements, the periodic table provides key information about the elements and how they might interact with each other to form molecules. Most periodic tables provide a key or legend to the information they contain.

Carbon Dating: Carbon-14 (14C) is a naturally occurring radioisotope that is created in the atmosphere by cosmic rays. This is a continuous process, so more 14C is always being created. As a living organism develops, the relative level of 14C in its body is equal to the concentration of 14C in the atmosphere. When an organism dies, it is no longer ingesting 14C, so the ratio will decline. 14C decays to 14N by a process called beta decay; it gives off energy in this slow process.

After approximately 5,730 years, only one-half of the starting concentration of 14C will have been converted to 14N. The time it takes for half of the original concentration of an isotope to decay to its more stable form is called its half-life. Because the half-life of 14C is long, it is used to age formerly living objects, such as fossils. Using the ratio of the 14C concentration found in an object to the amount of 14C detected in the atmosphere, the amount of the isotope that has not yet decayed can be determined. Based on this amount, the age of the fossil can be calculated to about 50,000 years (Figure 3). Isotopes with longer half-lives, such as potassium-40, are used to calculate the ages of older fossils. Through the use of carbon dating, scientists can reconstruct the ecology and biogeography of organisms living within the past 50,000 years.

Unless otherwise noted, images on this page are licensed under CC-BY 4.0 by OpenStax.

OpenStax, Concepts of Biology. OpenStax CNX. March 22, 2017  https://cnx.org/contents/:IBRqRY3C@8/The-Building-Blocks-of-Molecules