3. Carbon Flashcards
Outline the carbon cycle
Explain the experiment that replicated abiotic synthesis
In 1953 replicated the generation of organic compound formation in primal sea - proved that organic compounds could be generated from inorganic compounds
Conclusion: complex organic molecules could arise spontaneously under conditions that could have existed on the early Earth - ABIOTIC SYNTHESIS
What do similar proprotions of the elements in living things suggest?
That all life indicates a common evolutionary origin
Why does carbon form 4 bonds?
Has 4 valence e- needs another 4 to complete the octet → needs 4 bonds
What is the molecule of urea?
What molecular diversity can arise from variation in C skeletons?
What are hydrocarbons?
Molecules consisting of only hydrogen and carbon
Major component of fossil fuels
Fats have long hydrocarbon chains → non-polar → don’t dissolve in water
What are isomers?
Molecules which have the same number of atoms of the same elements but different structures and thus properties
What are the types of isomers?
- Structural isomers - differ in arrangements (straight / branched)
- Cis-trans isomers - double bond doesn’t allow rotation - spatial arrangements of the same group - different biological properties
- Enantiomers - mirror images - due to asymetric carbon - 4 different groups can be arranged in two ways: S (-) and R (+) enantiomers (thalidomide crisis where enantiomers were mixed - caused mutations to the unborn children - drug companies cannot ignore enantiomers - different biological properties)
On what do the properties of molecules depend?
- C skeleton differences
- Chemical groups attached
Affect shape and function
What are the common chemical groups in biological molecules?
Chemically reactive, all hydrophilic (except sulfhydryl), increase solubility:
- Hydroxyl
- Carbonyl
- Carboxyl
- Amino
- Sulfhydryl
- Phosphate
Not reactive but acts as a tag:
-Methyl
