Chapter 4 - Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life

Stanley Miller

established a closed system in 1953 to simulate circumstances considered to have prevailed on early Earth at the time.

Organic substances

were supposed to exist exclusively in living creatures, which were regarded to have a life force that was not subject to physical or chemical rules.

1828

In , a German scientist named Friedrich Wöhler attempted to make ammonium cyanate, an "inorganic "salt, by mixing solutions of ammonium ions (NH4 +) with cyanate ions (CNO-)

Miller

discovered a wide range of organic compounds found in organisms.

DNA

Proteins, , polysaccharides, and other molecules that differentiate living stuff from inanimate matter are all made up of carbon atoms that are linked to one another and to atoms of other elements.

Friedrich Wöhler

, a German scientist, attempted to create ammonium cyanate, an "inorganic "salt, in 1828 by combining solutions of ammonium ions (NH4 +) with cyanate ions (CNO-)

historical reasons

Compounds containing carbon are believed to be organic for , and their study is known as organic chemistry.

term hydrocarbons

The refer to organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen.

Carbon

enters the biosphere via producers, which are plants and other photosynthetic organisms that utilize sun energy to convert atmospheric CO2 into - based molecules of life.

tiny molecules

The are utilized to demonstrate molecular architectural ideas that help explain why carbon is so crucial to life while emphasizing the notion that emergent characteristics emerge from the structure of matter in living creatures.

chemical compounds

Both are steroids, which are that share a carbon skeleton in the form of four fused rings.

Carbon

may form bonds with four other atoms or groups of atoms, allowing for the formation of a wide range of compounds.