Problem #1:
Mass balances: stoichiometry The major elemental demands of a growing cell are carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen, and nitrogen. Assuming the carbon source to be characterized by (CH?O) and nitrogen by
NH??
$\alpha$CH?O + $\beta$NH?? + $\zeta$O? ? C?H?O?N? + $\eta$CO? + $\gamma$H?O
New cellular
material
(a) Write down the restriction among the coefficients $\alpha$, $\beta$, ... from consideration of elemental
conservation. Given the \"composition\" of a cell, what additional information is needed to solve for
the coefficient values?
(b) Repeat part (a) for photosynthetic systems:
$\alpha$CO? + $\beta$NH?? + $\gamma$H?O ? C?H?O?N? + $\epsilon$O?
(c) Describe an explicit series of experiments by which you would evaluate the stoichiometric
formula of the cell (a, b, c, d).