l.4

• Carbon is a component of almost all biological molecules, making life on Earth carbon-based
• Organic chemistry is devoted to the study of organic compounds containing carbon
• Carbon has four electrons in its outermost energy level and can form four covalent bonds with other atoms
• Carbon atoms can bond to each other, resulting in a variety of important organic compounds in the shape of straight chains, branched chains, and rings
• Macromolecules are large molecules formed by joining smaller organic molecules together, also known as polymers
• Biological macromolecules are organized into four major categories: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
• Carbohydrates:

  • Composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
  • Simple sugars or monosaccharides have values of n ranging from three to seven
  • Disaccharides like maltose and lactose serve as energy sources
  • Polysaccharides like glycogen are energy storage forms found in the liver and skeletal muscle
• Lipids:

  • Made mostly of carbon and hydrogen
  • Store energy and provide barriers
  • Triglycerides are fats if solid at room temperature and oils if liquid
  • Saturated fats have single bonds in the tail chain, while unsaturated fats have at least one double bond
• Proteins:

  • Made of amino acids
  • Amino acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and sometimes sulfur
  • Proteins have a primary structure defined by the order of amino acids and form peptide bonds
  • Proteins make up a significant portion of body mass and are involved in various functions like structural support, transport, and cell growth
• Nucleic acids:

  • Store and transmit genetic information
  • Types include DNA and RNA
  • Made of nucleotides composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and hydrogen atoms
  • Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide that stores chemical energy
• Summary:

  • Carbon compounds are the basic building blocks of living organisms
  • Biological macromolecules are formed by joining small carbon compounds into polymers
  • There are four types of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
  • Peptide bonds join amino acids in proteins
  • Chains of nucleotides form nucleic acids
• Carbon is a component of almost all biological molecules, making life on Earth carbon-based
• Organic chemistry is devoted to the study of organic compounds containing carbon
• Carbon has four electrons in its outermost energy level and can form four covalent bonds with other atoms
• Carbon atoms can bond to each other, forming a variety of important organic compounds in shapes like straight chains, branched chains, and rings
• Macromolecules are large molecules formed by joining smaller organic molecules together, also known as polymers
• Biological macromolecules are organized into four major categories: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
• Carbohydrates:

  • Composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
  • Simple sugars or monosaccharides have values of n ranging from three to seven
  • Disaccharides like maltose and lactose serve as energy sources
  • Polysaccharides like glycogen are energy storage forms found in the liver and skeletal muscle
• Lipids:

  • Made mostly of carbon and hydrogen
  • Composed of fatty acids, glycerol, and other components
  • Store energy and provide barriers
  • Saturated fats have single bonds in the tail chain, while unsaturated fats have at least one double bond
  • Phospholipids are important for the structure and function of cell membranes
  • Steroids like cholesterol provide starting points for other necessary lipids
• Proteins:

  • Made of amino acids
  • Amino acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and sometimes sulfur
  • Proteins are involved in various functions in the body, such as providing structural support, transporting substances, speeding up reactions, and controlling cell growth
• Nucleic acids:

  • Store and transmit genetic information
  • Types include DNA and RNA
  • Made of nucleotides composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and hydrogen atoms
  • Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide that stores chemical energy
• Peptide bonds join amino acids in proteins
• Chains of nucleotides form nucleic acids