CHNOPS

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
CHON
)

Graphic representation of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur

CHNOPS and CHON are mnemonic acronyms for the most common elements in living organisms. "CHON" stands for carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which together make up more than 95 percent of the mass of biological systems.[1] "CHNOPS" adds phosphorus and sulfur.

Description

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur are the six most important

nonmetals
.

Element Mass in plants Mass in animals Biological uses
Carbon 12% 19% Found in carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Hydrogen 10% 10% Found in water, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Nitrogen 1% 4% Found in nucleic acids, proteins, some lipids (e.g. sphingolipids) and some polysaccharides (e.g. chitin)
Oxygen 77% 63% Found in water, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Phosphorus <1% <1% Found in lipids, nucleic acids and proteins.
Sulfur <1% <1% Found in proteins and some polysaccharides.

In a human body, the four elements—C, H, O, and N—compose about 96% of the weight, and major minerals (macrominerals) and minor minerals (also called trace elements) compose the remainder.[1]

Sulfur is contained in the amino acids cysteine and methionine.[3] Phosphorus is contained in phospholipids, a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes, as they can form lipid bilayers, which keep ions, proteins, and other molecules where they are needed for cell function, and prevent them from diffusing into areas where they should not be. Phosphate groups are also an essential component of the backbone of nucleic acids (general name for DNA & RNA) and are required to form ATP – the main molecule used as energy powering the cell in all living creatures.[4]

Carbonaceous asteroids are rich in CHON elements.[5] These asteroids are the most common type, and frequently collide with Earth as meteorites. Such collisions were especially common early in Earth's history, and these impactors may have been crucial in the formation of the planet's oceans.[6]

The simplest compounds to contain all of the CHON elements are isomers

cyanic acid (HOCN) and isocyanic acid (HNCO), having one of each atom.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Atoms & Life". 27 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. ^ Education (2010). "CHNOPS: The Six Most Abundant Elements of Life". Pearson Education. Pearson BioCoach. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2010. Most biological molecules are made from covalent combinations of six important elements, whose chemical symbols are CHNOPS. ... Although more than 25 types of elements can be found in biomolecules, six elements are most common. These are called the CHNOPS elements; the letters stand for the chemical abbreviations of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
  3. from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  4. from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  5. University of Missouri-Rolla: Mining Concepts Development for Accessing Asteroid Resources; Mark Sonter, Asteroid Enterprises Pty Ltd Resources: Asteroids: What We Can Expect From What We Know Now; Dr. Faith Vilas, University of Arizona, Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory
    , Retrieved 2011-01-07.
  6. .

External links

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: CHON. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy