Texts: Need help with all parts, please explain!
(24%) Problem 3: The biological roles of complex organic molecules are determined by their shape - the way atoms and electrons create charge distributions on the molecule's surface. As a result of those charge distributions, the molecules can interact in specific ways, attracting and sticking to each other or to other organic molecules. For some proteins, their shape can be changed by the addition of a small amount of energy. Since different shapes can result in different biological roles, the same molecule can play different biological roles if the energy needed to change their shape is not too large.
Since the probability of a molecule having a higher energy than its ground state in a thermal bath is proportional to the Boltzmann factor e^(-E/kBT), let's call the normal (ground state) shape of a molecule α. Suppose that adding an energy E to a molecule will change it to a new shape, β. For the purposes of this problem, we'll assume that this is a two-state system. The molecule has to be in either state α or state β. If the molecule is immersed in a thermal bath of temperature T, find an expression for the probability, Pα, that the probabilities should add to 100%. Express each probability as a function of the symbol z = e^(-E/kBT).
First, find Pα.
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(10%) Part (a): Following the guidelines from part (a), find Pα.
(10%) Part (b): Explain the reasoning you used in parts (a) and (b).
(10%) Part (c): If the thermal bath (cellular fluid) is at 300 K, and the excitation energy E needed to change the molecule's shape is 50 meV (milli-electron volts), find the probability that the molecule will be in shape β. Give your answer as a decimal, not a percent. (Hint: At 300 K, the value of kBT is about 1/40 eV.)
(10%) Part (d): Explain the reasoning you used in part (d).
(10%) Part (e): If the temperature were small (close to 0 K), what would the probability be that the molecule is in its ground state?
(10%) Part (f): If the temperature were very large (approaching ∞), what would the probability be that the molecule is in its ground state?
(10%) Part (g): Explain the reasoning you used in parts (f) and (g).
(10%) Part (h): What value of E would a molecule in the thermal bath from part (c) need to have to be in shape β one quarter of the time? Give your answer in meV.
(10%) Part (i): Explain the reasoning you used in part (i).
