Living organisms are consisted of mostly carbon compounds (forms large, complex, varied molecules)
Proteins, DNA, carbohydrates, and other molecules that distinguish different beings are made of carbon compounds
Ex. amino acid structure
==Organic Chemistry: The Study of Carbon Compounds==
Stanley Miller Experiment: Abiotic synthesis of organic compounds
Creating life by applying lightning and heat to seawater
Extremophiles, endosymbiotic theory (eukaryotic cells have developed when multiple cells joined together into one)
Potential stage of the origin of life
Overall percentages of C, H, O, N, S, P = uniform from one organism to another
We are made from carbon and not silicon because silicon holds on to compounds too tightly and does not let them react (we would be transparent)
Carbon has the right amount of hold to allow chemicals to react (only needs some energy to be broken apart - like in the metabolism)
Carbon’s ability to form 4 covalent bonds is the reason for its diversity in making different chem compounds
Electron configuration is the key to an atom’s characteristics and the reason for the number of and type of bonds the atom will make with other atoms.
==The Formation of Bonds with Carbon==
Can form complex molecules
Molecules with a carbon each bonded to 4 other atoms can form a tetrahedral shape
When 2 carbons are joined in a double bond, atoms bonded to those carbons are in the same plane as them
Double/triple bonds prevent carbons from rotating around an axis (not dynamic anymore)
1 bond = ane
2 bonds = ene
3 bonds = yne
The unpaired number of electrons is generally the number of bonds it can form (valence shell)
Carbon’s electron configuration increases its compatibility with many elements
Bonds with H, O, N is the building blocks of many molecules
@@Molecular Diversity Arising from Variation in Carbon Skeletons @@
Length, branching, double bond positions, and presence of rings
==Hydrocarbons ==
Organic molecules with only carbon and hydrogen (ex. parts of fats)
Can undergo chemical reactions that release a lot of energy
Fat molecules are easier to break down than sugar (CnH2nOn)
Fat cells cannot be destroyed
Glyceride molecule bonded to 3 fatty acid molecules (not all the same size) = triglyceride
==Isomers==
Compounds with the same chemical formula, but different structures/properties
^^Structural isomers:^^ Different covalent arrangements (branching)
^^Geometric (Cis-Trans) isomers:^^ Different spatial arrangements of compounds (ie. Trans isomers flip a part of the molecule into a different plane, whereas cis isomers remain in 1 plane)
ex. Alpha glucose and fructose have the same chemical formula, but different arrangement
Galactose = Alpha but 4th carbon is flipped
Beta glucose = Alpha but 1st carbon is flipped
Cis-trans must be around a double or a triple bond
Cis and trans isomers will react differently, but the single bonded isomers will react the same regardless of how it’s flipped
^^Enantiomers (stereoisomers):^^ Isomers that are mirror images of each other
Enantiomers are important in the pharmaceutical industry
Different enantiomers may have different effects
Usually only one is biologically active
The difference in effects shows how sensitive organisms are to even subtle variations in molecules