please help?

Question

what is the difference between phosphate and phosphorous? does phosphate contain phosphorous or something? i am describing the parts of a nucleotide so i need to describe phosphate. thanks!

i can't find the answer

does phosphate contain phosphorous?

sorry i meant phosphorus

Answer 1

Phosphorus = Element #15, P

Phosphorous = not a substance on its own; it is used in names of compounds (i.e. phosphorOUS acid; H3PO3) to indicate that it is a reduced compound (as opposed to phosphorIC acid, H3PO4, with 4 oxygen atoms instead of 3)

Phosphate = An anion, PO4 with a charge of 3-. DNA contains phosphate groups, which, as you can see, contains phosphorus.

don't confuse phosphorus with phosphorOus!

Answer 2

Phosphate is an ion, it consists of phosphorus bound to 4 oxygen.

Its formula is PO4- (the charge being 1-)

Regular phosphorus in and of itself is a solid or semisolid (depending on its mood, I guess), and in some forms, is capable of spontaneously catching fire for no reason, which I find the coolest thing ever.

Regular phosphorus (without oxygen binding to form phosphate) is not useful in building DNA/RNA.


[11/29/2006: Edited for spelling stupidity-related issues.]

Answer 3

Ok your probably gonna give me some bad votes on this, but i dont care to be honest. This really bugs me when people post questions for awnsers to homework or etc. I understand you "need" to describe Phosphate but how can you truly learn something if you dont STUDY . look it up, learn it and feel good about your self when your describing this.. knowin you learned something on your OWN and without the help of strangers. If your lazy Im sorry but you dont get anywhere in life expecting people to give you the awnsers.

Answer 4

Google search to find out personally i dont know but if i did i would help u.

Answer 5

Phosphorus
The flammable non-metal was discovered in Germany in 1669 by Hennig Brand who precipitated it from urine. Phosphate buffers are used in general chemistry, and phosphoric acid is used for synthesis in organic chemistry

Of, relating to, or containing phosphorus, especially with valence 3 or a valence lower than that of a comparable phosphoric compound.


phosphate http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/phosphat


salt or ester of phosphoric acid, H3PO4. Because phosphoric acid is tribasic (having three replaceable hydrogen atoms), it forms monophosphate, diphosphate, and triphosphate salts in which one, two, or three of the hydrogens of the acid are replaced, respectively. Because replaceable hydrogens remain in monophosphates and diphosphates, they are sometimes called acid phosphates. The most important inorganic phosphate is calcium phosphate, Ca3(PO4)2. It makes up the larger part of phosphate rock, a mineral that is abundantly distributed throughout the world. Since calcium phosphate is only slightly soluble in water, it is not very suitable as a source of the phosphorus necessary for plant life; however, by treating it with sulfuric acid the soluble calcium acid phosphate known as superphosphate of lime is formed. Other important inorganic phosphates include ammonium phosphate, important as a fertilizer; trisodium phosphate, used in detergents and for softening water; and disodium phosphate, used to some extent in medicine and in preparing baking powders. Various acid phosphates, e.g., those of calcium, magnesium, and sodium, are sometimes present in carbonated beverages. Microcosmic salt, used in certain bead tests in chemical analysis, is sodium ammonium phosphate. Organic phosphates play an important role in metabolism. For example, in the metabolism of sugars (which have hydroxyl groups, -OH, in their molecules), phosphate esters are often formed as an intermediate compound. Formation of these esters is called phosphorylation. Nucleotides are phosphate esters that play an important role in the conservation and use of the energy released in the metabolism of foods in the body; adenosine triphosphate is an important nucleotide. DNA and RNA (see nucleic acid) are complex polymeric organic phosphates.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphate
A phosphate, in inorganic chemistry, is a salt of phosphoric acid. Phosphates are also important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry.
Chemical properties
The phosphate ion is a polyatomic ion with the empirical formula PO43− and a molecular mass of 94.97 daltons; it consists of one central phosphorus atom surrounded by four identical oxygen atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement. The phosphate ion carries a negative three formal charge and is the conjugate base of the hydrogenphosphate ion, HPO42−, which is the conjugate base of H2PO4−, the dihydrogen phosphate ion, which in turn is the conjugate base of H3PO4, phosphoric acid. It is a hypervalent molecule (the phosphorous atom has 10 electrons in its valence shell). Phosphate is also an organophosphorus compound with the formula OP(OR)3


A phosphate salt forms when a positively charged ion attaches to the negatively charged oxygen atoms of the ion, forming an ionic compound. Many phosphates are insoluble in water at standard temperature and pressure, except for the alkali metal salts.

In dilute aqueous solution, phosphate exists in four forms. In strongly basic conditions, the phosphate ion (PO43−) predominates, while in weakly basic conditions, the hydrogen phosphate ion (HPO42−) is prevalent. In weakly acid conditions, the dihydrogen phosphate ion (H2PO4−) is most common. In strongly acid conditions, aqueous phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is the main form. More precisely, considering the following three equilibrium reactions:

H3PO4 ⇌ H+ + H2PO4−
H2PO4− ⇌ H+ + HPO42−
HPO42− ⇌ H+ + PO43−
Occurrence
Shown is a sample of phosphate rock alongside a United States one-cent coin (for scale).Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus, found in many phosphate minerals. Elemental phosphorus and phosphides are not found (rare phosphide minerals may be found in meteorites). In mineralogy and geology, phosphate refers to a rock or ore containing phosphate ions.

The largest rock phosphate deposits in North America lie in the Bone Valley region of central Florida, United States, the Soda Springs region of Idaho, and the coast of North Carolina. Smaller deposits are located in Montana, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina near Charleston along Ashley Phosphate road. The small island nation of Nauru, which used to have massive phosphate deposits of the best quality, has been mined excessively. Rock phosphate can also be found on Navassa Island. Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Togo, and Jordan have large phosphate mining industries as well.

In biological systems, phosphorus is found as a free phosphate ion in solution and is called inorganic phosphate, to distinguish it from phosphates bound in various phosphate esters. Inorganic phosphate is generally denoted Pi and can be created by the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate, which is denoted PPi:

P2O74− + H2O → 2HPO42−
However, phosphates are most commonly found in the form of adenosine phosphates, (AMP, ADP and ATP) and in DNA and RNA and can be released by the hydrolysis of ATP or ADP. Similar reactions exist for the other nucleoside diphosphates and triphosphates. Phosphoanhydride bonds in ADP and ATP, or other nucleoside diphosphates and triphosphates, contain high amounts of energy which give them their vital role in all living organisms. They are generally referred to as high energy phosphate, as are the phosphagens in muscle tissue. Compounds such as substituted phosphines, have uses in organic chemistry but do not seem to have any natural counterparts.

In ecological terms, because of its important role in biological systems, phosphate is a highly sought after resource. Consequently, it is often a limiting reagent in environments, and its availability may govern the rate of growth of organisms. Addition of high levels of phosphate to environments and to micro-environments in which it is typically rare can have significant ecological consequences. For example, booms in the populations of some organisms at the expense of others, and the collapse of populations deprived of resources such as oxygen (see eutrophication). In the context of pollution, phosphates are a principal component of total dissolved solids, a major indicator of water quality