Bio Chap 4

What role does carbon play in the formation of life molecules?

Carbon is critical for forming the diverse molecules essential for life.

What is tetravalence in relation to carbon?

Carbon's ability to form four bonds, allowing it to construct a variety of organic molecules.

What types of structures can carbon atoms create?

Carbon can form chains and rings.

With which elements does carbon readily bond?

Carbon readily bonds with hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

What is a carbon skeleton?

The backbone of organic molecules, displaying significant diversity in length, branching, double bond position, and presence of rings.

What variations can carbon chains display?

Carbon chains can vary in length, can be straight or branched, and differ in double bond position and presence of rings.

What significant experiments did Stanley Miller conduct?

Miller conducted experiments that provided insights into abiotic synthesis of organic compounds on early Earth.

What conditions did Miller simulate in his 1953 experiment?

A primeval sea, a reducing atmosphere, and lightning.

What organic molecules did Miller's first experiment produce?

Miller produced organic molecules including amino acids and hydrocarbons.

What was the focus of Miller's 1958 experiment?

Incorporating hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to simulate conditions near volcanoes.

How did analysis of Miller's 1958 experiment samples contribute to our understanding of life origin?

Confirmed the presence of amino acids, suggesting abiotic synthesis occurred under varying early Earth conditions.

What is valence in chemistry?

Valence is the number of covalent bonds an atom can form.

What are the valences of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen?

Carbon (4), hydrogen (1), oxygen (2), and nitrogen (3).

What are hydrocarbons?

Organic molecules consisting solely of carbon and hydrogen.

Provide examples of simple hydrocarbons.

Methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and ethene (C2H4).

What role do hydrocarbons play in biomolecules?

They are major components of petroleum and contribute to the hydrophobic nature of fats.

Why are hydrocarbons significant as energy sources?

They release energy during reactions.

What are isomers?

Molecules with the same chemical formula but different structures, leading to variations in properties.

What are structural isomers?

Isomers that differ in the covalent arrangement of their atoms.

What are cis-trans isomers?

Isomers arising from restricted rotation around double bonds, leading to different spatial arrangements of atoms.

What are enantiomers?

Molecules that are mirror images of each other due to an asymmetric carbon.

How can enantiomers affect biological activity?

Subtle differences in spatial arrangement can significantly impact effectiveness, as seen with drugs like ibuprofen and albuterol.

What are functional groups in organic chemistry?

Functional groups are specific groups of atoms that influence the chemical and biological properties of molecules.

How do functional groups affect organic compounds?

They can participate in chemical reactions and influence molecular function by affecting shape.

What are the major functional groups in organic molecules?

Hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, sulfhydryl, phosphate, and methyl groups.

What is the role of the methyl group in biological molecules?

It often acts as a tag on biological molecules.

What is ATP?

Adenosine triphosphate, the primary energy carrier in cells.

Describe the structure of ATP.

ATP consists of an adenosine molecule linked to three phosphate groups.

What happens when a phosphate group is hydrolyzed from ATP?

The hydrolysis releases energy, fueling various cellular processes.

What is important about writing molecular formulas?

It allows for the representation of compounds based on their structural formulas.

Provide an example of a molecular formula for a simple molecule.

Methane has the molecular formula CH4.

What is an example of the molecular mass of a complex molecule?

Myristic acid has a molecular mass of 228.38 g/mol.

What is the molecular mass of octane?

The molecular mass of octane is 114.23 g/mol.

What elements make up the hydroxyl group?

The hydroxyl group consists of oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H).

What elements make up the carbonyl group?

The carbonyl group is made up of carbon (C) and oxygen (O).

What elements make up the carboxyl group?

The carboxyl group includes carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H), represented as -COOH.

What elements make up the amino group?

The amino group consists of nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H), typically represented as -NH2.

What elements make up the sulfhydryl group?

The sulfhydryl group is composed of sulfur (S) and hydrogen (H).

What elements make up the phosphate group?

The phosphate group includes phosphorus (P) and oxygen (O), often represented as -PO4.

What elements make up the methyl group?

The methyl group is made up of one carbon (C) and three hydrogen (H) atoms, represented as -CH3.