Carbon

• Organic chemistry is the branch of science dealing with the element carbon and its many properties
• Most of the compounds found in living things are organic
• About 30% of an organism's biomass is composed of carbon
• Biomass is the total mass of living material in an ecosystem, including all living organisms and their wastes
• Carbon helps make the four major groups of organic macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
• Miller/Urey Experiment - They took inorganic substances that were thought to have been present in Earth's early atmosphere and created organic amino acids and oils. Miller wanted to show that organic molecules, which are necessary for life, could be created by nonliving things
• Carbon has 4 valence electrons, meaning it can form four covalent bonds. This allows carbon to bond with a variety of molecules