The first crucial chemical process necessary to maintain human life is respiration. Without energy, the human body will not be able to function, so oxygen is a vital element (Rizzo, 2015). The process of internal breathing can be represented as follows:
- The first stage is glycolysis, when one glucose molecule is converted into two ATP and lactic acid molecules.
- The second stage is oxygen, as a result of which 36 ATP molecules are obtained by splitting lactic acid (synthesized during glycolysis).
The second important chemical process is protein biosynthesis. All living beings are created from a protein polymer, which, in turn, consists of a large number of amino acids. Protein synthesis involves a huge number of reactions that occur due to ribosomes, mRNA, and tRNA. Amino acids are delivered to ribosomes through interactions between various ribonucleic acid types, where they are then joined with other monomers to form proteins.
People quite often encounter various everyday chemical processes that have an impact on the body. I would like to describe the process of ozone formation after a thunderstorm. In a thunderstorm, under the influence of lightning, some of the oxygen molecules break up into atoms, molecular and atomic oxygen combine, and ozone is formed (Yadava & Mall, 2021). The connection with chemical processes in the human body is manifested in the feeling of exceptional freshness after a thunderstorm. The fact is that ozone is a much stronger oxidizer than oxygen (Yadava & Mall, 2021). Moreover, it is under its influence that harmful substances decompose in the atmosphere; therefore, a person’s chemical process of respiration becomes more qualitative (Yadava & Mall, 2021). However, it is worth noting that an increased ozone concentration can negatively impact both people and plants, for which this chemical element is poisonous.
References
Rizzo, D. C. (2015). Study Guide for Rizzo’s Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Yadava, P. K., & Mall, R. K. (2021). Role of lightning NOx in ozone formation: A review. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 178(11), 1–14.