ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Miss Napolitano & Mrs. Haas
CP Biology
Do Now:
• What is the difference between organic & inorganic? Use the
examples below!
Organic:
Inorganic:
Glucose (C6H12O6)
Table sugar – sucrose (C12H22O11)
Methane (CH4)
Vinegar (CH3COOH)
Nicotine (C10H14N2)
Chlorophyll a (C55H72O5N4Mg)
Table salt (NaCl)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Water (H2O)
Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
Ozone (O3)
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
Also – define the following terms:
“Dehydration”
“Synthesis”
“Hydro-”
“-lysis”
Introduction to Orgo
• Organic Chemistry: the study of carbon-based
compounds
• Contains both C & H atoms
• Why carbon?
• It’s versatile!
• 4 valence electrons = 4 covalent bonds
• Able to form simple or complex compounds
• C chains form the backbone of most biological molecules
Functional Groups
• Groups of atoms that give molecules specific characteristics
• Responsible for chemical reactions between molecules
• “R” can be any group of atoms
Name
Atoms
Aldehyde
--COH (double bond)
Carboxylic Acid
--COOH (double bond)
Ketone
--O-- (double bond)
Amine
--NH2
Alcohol
--OH
Phosphate
--PO4- (one double bond)
Example
Hydrocarbons
• Hydrocarbons: contain ONLY C & H atoms
• Store energy
• Hydrophobic
Macromolecules
• “Big molecules”
• 4 classes
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids
• Polymers: long molecules made up of building blocks
called monomers
• “poly” = many, “mono” = 1
• Polymerization: making bonds between monomers
Polymerization
• Dehydration synthesis (condensation rxn): building
dimers or polymers
(Monomer-OH) + (H-monomer)  (dimer) + (H2O)
• Hydrolysis: breaking down dimers or polymers
(Dimer) + (H2O)  (monomer-OH) + (H-monomer)
Dehydration Synthesis & Hydrolysis
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates: macromolecules with the molecular
ratio 1C : 2H : 1O (or some multiple)
• Ex: Glucose = C6H12O6
• Stores energy
• Types of sugars – most end in “-ose”
• Monosaccharides: monomer of carbs
• Simple sugar with 3-7 carbons
• Ex: Glucose, fructose, galactose
Monosaccharides (Carbs)
Carbohydrates (cont’d)
•Disaccharide – formed by 2 monosaccharides
•Ex:
• Glucose + glucose  maltose + H2O
• Glucose + fructose  sucrose + H2O
• Glucose + galactose  lactose + H2O
Disaccharides (Carbs)
Carbohydrates (cont’d)
• Polysaccharides: 100’s – 1,000’s of monosaccharides
• Storage polysaccharides:
• Starch – helical glucose
• Produced by plants
• Glycogen – branched glucose
• Stored in vertebrate liver & muscle
• Structural polysaccharides:
• Cellulose – linear glucose
• Makes up plant cell walls
• Chitin
• Makes up arthropod exoskeletons, fungi cell walls
Polysaccharides (Carbs)
Lipids
•Energy storage macromolecule
• Stores 2x more energy than carbs!
•Hydrophobic (not soluble in water)
•Types:
• Fats & oils
• Phospholipids
• Steroids
• Waxes
Fats & Oils (Lipids)
•Many made up of glycerol – C3H5(OH)3 – &
fatty acid chains
•Can be classified as either saturated or
unsaturated
•Function:
• Store energy
• Insulation
• Protective cushioning around organs
Saturated Fats (Lipids)
• Contain no C double bonds
• Straight chains
• Saturated in the number of H’s
• Solid at room temperature
• Usually animal fats
• Ex: butter, lard, adipose tissue
Unsaturated Fats (Lipids)
• One or more (polyunsaturated) C double bonds
• Bent or kinked chains
• Liquid at room
temperature
• Most plant & fish fats
• Ex: Olive oil, corn oil,
canola oil
Phospholipids
• Major component of cell membranes
• Phosphate head = hydrophilic
• Fatty acid tails = hydrophobic
• Form a bilayer (2) in water
Steroids
•4 fused carbon rings
with various functional
groups
•Ex: cholesterol
• Component of cell membrane
& many hormones
Proteins
• Various functions: enzymes, structural support,
storage, transport, cellular communication,
movement, defense
• Monomer = amino acid
• Cells use 20 amino acids to build thousands of
different proteins
• Polymers = polypeptides
Protein Structure
• Primary (1o) structure
• Sequence of amino acid (length varies)
• Determined by genes
• Secondary (2o) structure
• How polypeptide folds or coils
• α-helix or β-pleats
• Tertiary (3o) structure
• 3D structure (folds onto itself)
• Hydrophilic vs. hydrophobic interactions
• Quaternary (4o) structure
• 2+ polypeptide chains bonded together
• Not all proteins have 4o structure
Protein Conformation
• Structure of a protein is directly related to function!
• Conformation depends on when synthesized, pH, salt
concentration, temperature, etc.
• Proteins can become denatured
• Unravel & lose conformation
• Become biologically inactive
• Can become renatured if conditions are restored to normal
Denatured Proteins
Nucleic Acids
• 2 types:
1. DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid)
• Contains genetic information
• Double stranded helix
• Provides directions for own replication
• Directs protein & RNA synthesis
DNA

RNA

Proteins
2. RNA (RiboNucleic Acid)
• Single stranded
• Transfers information from nucleus to cytoplasm
• Helps direct protein synthesis
Structure of Nucleic Acid
•Monomer – nucleotide composed of 3
parts:
• Pentose (ribose or deoxyribose)
• Phosphate group
• Nitrogenous base
• 5 nitrogenous bases – adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine
(C), guanine (G), & uracil (U)
• ATCG = DNA
• AUCG = RNA
• A pairs with T (DNA) or U (RNA)
• C pairs with G
Nucleotides
Individual nucleotide
Chain of nucleotides
DNA
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
• Not a macromolecule, but still super important!
• Primary energy transferring molecule in the cell
• Bonds break to release energy, bonds form to store
energy
• ATP  ADP + Pi + Energy (releases energy)
• ADP + Pi + Energy  ATP (stores energy)