CARBON COMPOUNDS
Why is carbon
so important
to life?
THE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON
 A whole branch of chemistry is set aside just to study carbon
compounds
~Organic chemistry
 Organic chemistry is the study of all compounds that contain
bonds between carbon atoms.
 Carbon has four electrons that form covalent bonds with other
atoms.
6P
6N
THE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON
 Carbon atoms have the ability to form strong bonds.
 Not only can carbon atoms bond to H, N, O, P and S atoms,
but a carbon atom can bond to other carbon atoms!
~gives carbon the ability to form long chains
~carbon-carbon bonds can be single, double, or triple
covalent bonds
~chains of carbon atoms can close and form rings
This makes carbon a versatile element-No other element even comes close!
C
C
C
C
C
C6H12O6
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
WHY IS CARBON SO IMPORTANT?
 Life depends on carbon/organic
compounds! When you eat food or
inhale oxygen, your body uses these
materials in chemical reactions that
keep you alive.
 Just as buildings are made from
bricks, steel, glass and wood, living
things are made from
carbon/organic compounds.
 Carbon or organic compounds are
the building blocks for organisms
and the major source of their
chemical energy.
 All living organisms contain carbon.
MACROMOLECULES
 Many of the molecules in living cells are so large that
they are known as macromolecules, which means
“giant molecules.”
 Macromolecules are made from thousands or even
hundreds of thousands of smaller molecules.
Lipids
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Nucleic Acids
MACROMOLECULES-POLYMERIZATION
Macromolecules are formed by a process
known as polymerization in which large
compounds are built by joining smaller ones
together.
 The smaller units, or monomers, join
together to form polymers.
~”Mono” = one
~”Poly” = many
 Monomers may be identical
~like the links on a metal watch band
 Monomers may be different
~like the beads in a multicolored necklace
T YPES OF MACROMOLECULES
 Four groups of organic compounds
(macromolecules) found in living
things are:
~carbohydrates
~lipids
~nucleic acids
~proteins
 Sometimes these organic
compounds are referred to as
biomolecules
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen atoms
~usually in a ratio of 1 : 2 : 1.
C6H12O6
 Living things use carbohydrates as their main source of energy.
 Plants and some animals also use carbohydrates for structural
purposes
 Starches and sugars are examples of carbohydrates that are used
by living things as a source of energy.
CARBOHYDRATES-STRUCTURE
The monomers or “building blocks” of
carbohydrates are monosaccharides
-monosaccharide: one sugar molecule
(Ex: glucose, galactose, fructose)
-disaccharide: two sugar molecules
(Ex: lactose, sucrose)
-polysaccharide: many sugar molecules
(Ex: glycogen (in animals),
starch, cellulose (in plants))
LIPIDS
 A lipid is a macromolecule made up of
mostly carbon and hydrogen atoms and
they have oxygen atoms too.
 Lipids can be used to store energy.
Some lipids are important parts of
biological membranes and waterproof
coverings.
 Common categories of lipids are:
 Fats
 Oils
 Waxes
 Steroids
LIPIDS-STRUCTURE
 Lipids are unique because
they are nonpolar
molecules, meaning they do
NOT dissolve in water.
 The monomers of lipids or the
“building blocks” are fatty
acids and glycerol.
 Most lipids are formed when a
glycerol molecule combines
with 3 fatty acids.
LIPIDS-STRUCTURE
 If all of the carbons are singled
bonded it is considered saturated.
-If each carbon atom in a lipid's fatty acid
chain is joined to another carbon atom
by a single bond, the lipid is said to be
saturated.
 If there is at least one carbon-carbon
double bond in a fatty acid, it is
unsaturated.
NUCLEIC ACIDS (GENETICS!!)
Nucleic acids are
macromolecules/polymers containing
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, and phosphorus.
 Nucleic acids store and transmit
hereditary, or genetic, information
 There are two kinds of nucleic
acids:
-ribonucleic acid (RNA)
-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
NUCLEIC ACIDS-STRUCTURE
The monomers or “building blocks” of nucleic
acids are called nucleotides
Nucleotides consist of three parts:
-5-carbon sugar
-phosphate group
-nitrogenous base
PROTEINS
Proteins are macromolecules/polymers that
contain nitrogen as well as carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen.
Proteins can:
-control the rate of reactions
-regulate cell processes
-form bones and muscles
-transport substances into or out of cells
-help to fight disease
PROTEINS-STRUCTURE
The monomers or “building blocks” of
proteins are called amino acids
 Amino acids are compounds with an
amino group (−NH2) on one end and
a carboxyl group (−COOH) on the
other end.
 There are 20 common amino acids
used by all organisms in nature, in
different combinations.
PROTEIN-STRUCTURE
The instructions for arranging amino
acids into many different proteins
are stored in DNA. Each protein has
a specific role
 All amino acids are identical in
the regions where they may be
joined together by covalent
bonds.
 This uniformity allows any amino
acid to be joined to any other
amino acid—by bonding an
amino group to a carboxyl group.
 The portion of each amino acid
that is different is a side chain
called an R-group.
PROTEINS-STRUCTURE
Proteins can have up to four levels of organization:
 Primary structure: the linear arrangement of
amino acids in a protein and the location of
covalent linkages such as peptide bonds between
amino acids
 Secondary structure: areas of folding or coiling
within a protein; examples include alpha helices
and pleated sheets, which are stabilized by
hydrogen bonding.
 Tertiary structure: the final three-dimensional
structure of a protein, which results from a large
number of non-covalent interactions between
amino acids.
 Quaternary structure: non-covalent interactions
that bind multiple polypeptides into a single, larger
protein. Hemoglobin has quaternary structure due
to association of two alpha globin and two beta
globin polyproteins.
SUMMARY
I. Carbon compounds are necessary for all living things (organic compounds)
II. Large carbon compounds are called macromolecules or biomolecules
III. Four types of macromolecules
1. Carbohydrates
a. Monomer is a monosaccharide
b. “quick energy”
2. Lipids
a. Monomer is a glycerol and 3 fatty acids
b. Long-term energy
c. Fats and fat storage
3. Nucleic Acids
a. Monomer is the nucleotide
b. DNA and RNA
4. Proteins
a. Monomer is amino acids
b. Have many different functions
c. Enzymes-will learn about next class