Hey guys. I have this chemistry question, and I was wondering whether anyone would care to answer it? 3) In our body, there are a number of metal ions. There is Calcium (Ca2+) in the bones and Potassium (K+) in our muscles. a) The body has got a hard time distinguishing between strontium ions from Calcium and cesium ions from Potassium. Why? b) If a nuclear reactor malfunctions, there can be a huge spred of Strontium and Cesium ions in the surroundings, what consequences does that have? c) The body has also got a hard time distiguishing between cadmium and calcium ions, why? Sorry for the crappy translations, but had to translate it almost directly from danish. If you have any questions, or my translation is unclear, please do not hesitate to ask
I'm pretty sure a) is because strontium forms Sr2+ ions which have the same charge as Calcium ions (Ca2+, both are 2+). Same goes for potassium (K+) and caesium (Cs+) - both have +1 charges, so the body cannot differentiate between the two very easily B) Caesium explodes when it comes into contact with water and has radioactive isotopes, as does strontium (Sr90 is present in nuclear fallout and can lead to bone disorders such as bone cancer) C) Same reason as part a), both form ions with charges of 2+ (cadmium is a transition metal so it has a variable oxidation state, but its most common state is 2+) That should help, I'm not 100% certain though
You'll probably have to ask someone who knows more about biology than me (read: pretty much anyone), but I think the key point is that they form similar sized ions, as every element in Group 1 forms 1+ ions, and every element in Group 2 forms 2+ ions, but I would guess that the body wouldn't have as much trouble distinguishing Cs/K ions from Li ions or Ca/Sr ions from Be ions, for example. Table showing ionic radii of elements:
Definitely sounds plausible to me. I'm not a biochemist, but from the top of my head, the receptor to detect the ions can be tricked to an extent in an analogous fashion to protein inhibition.
How well do the questions need to be answered, is just same group so similar chemistry meaning that the body cannot easily differentiate between caesium and potassium good enough, or do you need the biochemical reasonaing behind that?
a)I'd assume it was purely a chemical reason, being chemistry homework. I'd assume it's the presence in the same group and also the size. b)Muscles require K+ ions to function properly. I won't go into the biology. If some of the K+ ions are replaced by Cs+ ions, the muscles will not contract smoothly, as some parts will and others won't. Again, not going into the biology. I'd also guess that bones don't form properly with Sr2+ instead of Ca2+ ions, perhaps resulting in osteoporosis. c) Pretty much the same as a). Hope that helped.
