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Chemical reactions that mimic the function of ATP hydrolysis in biochemistry are of current interest in nonequilibrium systems chemistry. The formation of transient bonds from these reactions can drive molecular machines or generate materials with time-dependent properties. While the behavior of these systems can be complicated, the underlying chemistry is often simple: they are therefore potentially interesting topics for undergraduate introductory organic chemistry students, combining state-of-the-art advances in systems chemistry with straightforward reactions. Here, a teaching experiment has been developed that explores the transient assembly of benzoic acid derivatives driven by carbodiimide hydration. Working in teams, students examine the formation and decomposition of anhydrides from two benzoic acids using a carbodiimide “fuel”. The students examine classic reaction kinetics of anhydride hydrolysis using two independent methods, NMR and IR spectroscopies. They then explore how the amount of carbodiimide affects the lifetimes of precipitates of benzoic anhydride as a simple example of out-of-equilibrium self-assembly.
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Showing the Bonds—A Subtle but Important Difference in Figure Design that May Alleviate Student Confusion about ATP Hydrolysis
A misconception among biology students is that breaking bonds in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) releases energy. This misconception may be related to imprecise representations of chemical bonding in common diagrams of ATP hydrolysis. We interviewed 33 undergraduate students and randomly assigned them to interpret a figure of ATP hydrolysis that either emphasized bond breaking in the reactants or the formation of new bonds in the products. Students who saw the figure emphasizing bond breaking were more likely to incorrectly classify ATP hydrolysis as endergonic, while students who saw the figure explicitly illustrating bond formation were more likely to use chemically-sound reasoning to describe the reaction.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2222337
- PAR ID:
- 10639687
- Publisher / Repository:
- microPublication Biology
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- microPublication biology
- Volume:
- 2025
- ISSN:
- 2578-9430
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.17912/micropub.biology.001540
