Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on carbon biochemistry, isomerism, functional groups, abiotic synthesis experiments, and cellular energy carriers.

Organic Chemistry

The branch of chemistry concerned with the study of carbon compounds.

Miller-Urey Experiment

A 1953 experiment by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey demonstrating that organic compounds, such as amino acids, could be synthesized abiotically in a simulated reducing atmosphere.

Valence

The number of covalent bonds an atom can form, which equals the number of unshared electrons required to complete its valence shell.

Tetrahedral Shape

The three-dimensional geometry formed when a carbon atom forms four single covalent bonds with other atoms.

Hydrocarbon

An organic molecule consisting entirely of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Isomers

Compounds that share the same molecular formula but possess distinct structural arrangements and physical or chemical properties.

Structural Isomers

Compounds that have the same molecular formula but differ in the covalent arrangement of their constituent atoms.

Cis-Trans Isomers

Isomers that possess identical covalent bonds but differ in spatial arrangement around a rigid double bond.

Cis Isomer

A spatial configuration of a cis-trans isomer where two identical or target groups are located on the same side of a carbon-carbon double bond.

Trans Isomer

A spatial configuration of a cis-trans isomer where two identical or target groups are located on opposite sides of a carbon-carbon double bond.

Enantiomers

Isomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other due to an asymmetric carbon atom.

Functional Groups

Specific combinations of atoms attached to organic carbon skeletons that consistently participate in chemical reactions and dictate molecular functionality.

Hydroxyl Group

A polar chemical group consisting of an oxygen atom bonded to a hydrogen atom ($\text{—OH}$); characterizes alcohols.

Carbonyl Group

A chemical group consisting of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom ($\text{>C=O}$); forms ketones when within a skeleton and aldehydes when at the end.

Carboxyl Group

A functional group consisting of a carbon double-bonded to oxygen and single-bonded to a hydroxyl group ($\text{—COOH}$); acts as an acid by donating $H^+$ ions.

Amino Group

A functional group consisting of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms ($\text{—NH}_2$); acts as a base by accepting $H^+$ ions.

Sulfhydryl Group

A functional group consisting of a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom ($\text{—SH}$); forms disulfide cross-links to stabilize protein structure.

Phosphate Group

A functional group consisting of a phosphorus atom bonded to four oxygen atoms ($\text{—OPO}_3^{2-}$); imparts negative charge and enables energy-releasing reactions with water.

Methyl Group

A nonpolar functional group consisting of a carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms ($\text{—CH}_3$); influences gene expression when added to DNA.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

An organic molecule comprising adenosine attached to three phosphate groups, acting as the primary energy-storing molecule in cells.