Carbon Compounds
Section 2-3
pp. 44 - 48 in your textbook
Carbon Chemistry
• Carbon has 4 valence electrons
• It can form strong covalent bonds
• It can bond with many elements
including Hydrogen, Oxygen,
Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Nitrogen
• It can bond with other Carbon
atoms to form compounds that
are very lengthy
Carbon Chemistry - cont.
• The Carbon - Carbon bonds can
be single, double, or triple
covalent bonds
• Carbon chains can even close up
on themselves to form ring
structures
• Carbon has the ability to form
millions of large and complex
structures
Macromolecules
• Means “giant molecules”
• Made from many smaller
molecules
• Smaller monomers join to
form polymers
Organic Compounds
• Contain the element Carbon
• There are 4 groups of organic
compounds found in living
things
• They are carbohydrates,
lipids, nucleic acids, and
proteins
Carbohydrates
• Compounds made up of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
• Usually in a ratio of 1 : 2 : 1
• Used by living things as a main
source of energy
• Structural purposes for some
plants and animals
Carbohydrates – cont.
• Monosaccharides are single
sugar molecules. Ex. Glucose,
galactose, and fructose
• Polysaccharides are large
molecules formed from
monosaccharides. Ex. Glycogen
(animal starch), plant starch,
cellulose
Lipids
• A large and varied group of
biological molecules that are
generally not soluble in water.
• They are mostly carbon and
hydrogen. Ex. Fats, oils, waxes
• Can store energy
• Important parts of biological
membranes and waterproof
coverings
Lipids - cont
• Steroids are lipids
• Saturated means they contain the
maximum number of hydrogen
atoms
• Unsaturated means they contain
at least one double bond
• Polyunsaturated means they
contain more than one double
bond
Nucleic Acids
• Large molecules containing
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
carbon, and phosphorus
• They are polymers assembled from
monomers known as nucleotides
• Nucleotides consist of 3 parts – A
sugar, a phosphate group, and a
nitrogenous base
• These form nucleic acids
Nucleic Acids - cont
• Nucleic acids store and transmit
hereditary or genetic information
• Ex. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
and RNA (Ribonucleic acid)
• DNA – sugar is deoxyribose
• RNA – sugar is ribose
Proteins
• Large molecules that contain
nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen
• They are polymers of amino acids
• Amino acids have an amino group
on one end (-NH2) and a carboxyl
group on the other end (-COOH)
• More than 20 different amino
acids are found in nature
Proteins-cont
• The arrangement of amino acids
into proteins is stored in DNA
• Each protein has a specific role
• Proteins control rates of reaction,
cellular processes, they form
bones and muscle, transport
substances into and out of cells,
and help fight disease
Protein organization
• First level => sequence of amino
acid in a chain
• Second level => amino acids within
a chain can be twisted or folded
• Third level => The chain itself is
folded
• Fourth level => If more than one
chain, each chain has a specific
arrangement in space