3.1 carbon and the molecular diversity of life and functional groups Flashcards
organic chemistry defintion
branch of chemistry that specializes in study of carbon compounds
organic compounds contain what elements?
carbon and hydrogen
what are the major elements of life?
carbon
hydrogen
nitrogen
oxygen
phosphorous
sulfur
how many valence electrons does carbon have?
4 (tetravalence)
how many bonds can carbon form?
up to 4
what are carbon’s most frequent bonding partners?
hydrogen
oxygen
nitrogen
alkane
single bond
alkene
double bond
alkyne
triple bond
what are the 4 classes of macromolecules?
carbohydrates
proteins
lipids
nucleic acids
what 3 shapes can carbon molecules form?
chains
ring-shaped
branched
isomer definition
molecules have the same molecular formula, differs in atom arrangement
different molecule structure =
different properties and functions
structural isomer
varies in covalent arrangement
cis-trans isomer
differs in spatial arrangement
enantiomers
mirror images of molecules
most common functional groups
hydroxyl
carbonyl
carboxyl
amino
sulfhydryl
phosphate
methyl
hydroxyl structure
–OH
(or HO–)
hydroxyl name of compound
alcohols (specific names end in -ol)
hydroxyl functional properties
polar, results from electrons spending more time near electronegative oxygen atom
can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules, helping dissolve organic compounds such as sugars
carbonyl structure
> CO
carbonyl name of compound
ketones if carbonyl group is within a carbon skeleton
aldehydes if carbonyl group is at the end of the carbon skeleton
carbonyl functional properties
ketone and aldehyde might be structural isomers with different properties, similar to acetone and propanal
ketone and aldehyde groups are also found in sugars, giving rise to to major groups of sugars: ketoses (containing ketone groups) and aldoses (containing aldehyde groups)
carboxyl structure
–COOH
carboxyl name of compound
carboxylic acids, or organic acids
carboxyl functional properties
acts as an acid, can donate an H+ because the covalent bond between O and H is so polar
found in cells in the ionized form with the charge of 1- and called a carboxylate ion
amino structure
–NH2
amino name of compound
amines
amino functional properties
acts as a base, can pick up an H+ from the surrounding solution (water, in living organisms)
found in cells in the ionized form with a 1+ charge
sulfhydryl structure
–SH
sulfhydryl name of compound
thiols
sulfhydryl functional properties
two sulfhydryl groups can react, forming a covalent bond. cross-linking helps stabilize protein structure
cross-linking of cysteines in hair proteins maintains the curliness or straightness of hair. straight hair can be permanently curled by shaping it around curlers and then breaking and re-forming the cross-linking bonds
phosphate structure
–OPO3^2-
–OPO3H2
phosphate name of compound
organic phosphates
phosphate functional properties
contributes negative charge to the molecule of which it is a part (2– when at the end of a molecule, 1– when located internally in a chain of phosphates)
molecules with phosphate groups have potential to react with water, releasing energy
methyl structure
–CH3
methyl name of compound
methylated compounds
methyl functional properties
addition of a methyl group to DNA, or to molecules bound to DNA, affects the expression of genes
arrangement of methyl groups in male and female sex hormones affects their shape and function
