Carbon Outline | Date:
Carbon is the Backbone of Life
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All life is built on carbon
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Forms large, complex, varied molecules
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25% of cells are carbon compounds
Organic Chemistry:

Organic (carbon) compounds
o Form polymers
o Four types
o Carbon can bond with four other atoms
o Forms complex molecules

Organic vs. inorganic molecules
o Organic:
o Inorganic:

Carbon skeletons
o Electron configuration
o Four valence electrons
o Forms single, double, triple, or quadruple bonds
o Four stable covalent bonds (tetravalence)
o Common partners = O, H, N
o Hydrocarbons

Covalent bonding, nonpolar

Store lots of energy – why?
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Examples:
o Isomers

Biological relevance

Types

Structural isomers

Cis-trans (geometric) isomers

Enantiomers
o Structure and function

Directly related – structural differences create functional differences

Thalidomide

Functional groups

Chemically reactive, directly involved in reactions

Result in special chemical properties

Hydrophilic, affect molecule reactivity:

Nonreactive, usually serves as tag on biological molecules:

Example of importance:

Hydroxyl


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o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
Carbonyl
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
Carboxyl
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
Amino
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
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
Sulfhydryl
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
Phosphate
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties
o ATP

Methyl
o Structure
o Example(s)
o Name
o Properties