Carbon Flashcards
how does carbon enter living organisms
through food
what are cells composed of
70–95% of cells are composed of water, the rest consists mostly of
carbon-based compounds
what makes the diversity of organisms possible
carbon is unparalleled in its ability to form molecules that are large, complex, and varied
what is composed of carbon compounds
proteins, DNA, carbohydrates, and
lipids
what is organic chemistry
the study of carbon-based compounds is called organic chemistry
why is carbon special
the tetravalence of carbon (four covalent bonds) makes large,
complex molecules possible
what happends when two carbon atoms are joined by a double bond
the molecule has a flat shape
what happens when you change the shape of a molecule
the function changes
what are organic compounds
organic molecules are compounds with a carbon hydrogen backbone and/or originate from biological sources
how are organic compounds are formed
by living organisms
what do the properties of organic compounds depend on
- the arrangement of the carbon skeleton
- the elements that are attached to the carbon skeleton (the functional groups)
what are hydrocarbons
organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
what happens when hydrocarbons undergo reactions
hydrocarbons can undergo
reactions that release a large
amount of energy (fossil fuel)
what do hydrophobic interactions produce
hydrocarbons tend to clump together in water
how can hydrocarbonds be found
- long or short straight chains
- single or multiple branched chains
- Rings
- composed of nonpolar covalent C-H and C-C bonds, making all hydrocarbons nonpolar molecules (ex: hydrophobic).
how can carbon skeleton be diverse
skeletons can vary in their degree of branching
what are isomers
compounds with the same formula and different structure
what are functional groups
attached to carbon skeletons are functional groups, they provide a molecule with a particular characteristic/function giving in unique propertities
what can most functional groups form
most functional groups can form ionic and hydrogen bonds with other molecules (causes organic molecule to exhibit hydrophilic properties)
can some functional groups be nonpolar and cause the molecule to be hydrophobic
yes
what do variations in functional groups influence
development of anatomical and
physiological differences
what is the female lion hormone
estradiol
what is the male lion hormone
testosterone
Describe the similarities in the hormones
carbon skeleton (same in both): four rings,1 pentagon, 3 hexagon, cholestrol
what are the seven most important functional group
1) Hydroxyl group
2) Carbonyl group
3) Carboxyl group
4) Amino group
5) Sulfhydryl group
6) Phosphate group
7) Methyl group
what is the hydroxyl group
hydroxyl groups provides polarity to the parent molecule, the overall polarity of the molecule will depend how many OH groups there are relative to the molecule’s size
which is more polar C2H5OH or C6H13OH
C2H5OH
what are alcohols
organic compounds containing hydroxyl groups (methanol, ethanol)
why is glucose considered a highly polar molecule
glucose (C6H12O6) contains five OH
why are sugars soluble in water
the presence of hydroxyl groups
what is the CARBONYL group
carbonyl groups (aldehydes and ketones) provide some degree of polarity to the parent molecule due to electronegative oxygen attracts covalent electrons
what are aldehydes
aldehydes contain the carbonyl carbon bonded to at least one
hydrogen
what are ketones
ketones have the carbonyl carbon bonded to two other carbons
what are aldoses
monosaccharides containing aldehyde groups are termed aldoses (glucose)
what are ketoses
monosaccharides containing ketone groups are termed ketoses (fructose)
what can simple sugars be
aldehydes or ketones
how does the presence of water change a molecules
when there is no water present, molecules form linearly, but most often in the presence of water they will form a ring
what is the CARBOXYL group
carboxyl groups incorporate a C=O covalently bonded to -OH
are molecules containing the carboxyl groups acidic or basic
weakly acidic
is the CARBOXYL group polar
while this group does provide polarity, the way the atoms are linked provides a certain stability such that the group can dissociate (COOH –> COO-)
what do all amino acids contain
a carboxyl group which can donate a hydrogen
what does R represent
“remainder of the
molecule”
what compounds also contain carboxyl
formic acid
acetic acid
what is the amino group
amino groups provide some polarity due to the polar covalent bond between N and H, this group can also accept an extra H+ atom
are molecules containing the amino group acidic or basic
weakly basic
what is an important part of amino acids
- alll amino acids contain an amino group which can accept a H
-good organic buffer
what can each each free amino acid do
- can donate a proton to the surrounding solution (acidic) and/or accept a proton (basic)
what is the R group
the part of the
molecule which will determine
the properties of each specific
amino acids
what are amino group examples
- nitrogenous bases in DNA and RNA contain amino groups
what is a free amino acid
not part of a polypeptide
what is the sulfhydryl group
- sulfhydryl groups (-SH) can form very strong bond with another –SH group called a disulfide bridge
- sulfhydryl groups help stabilize the internal structures of proteins
where is the sulfhydryl group found
- some proteins that contain cysteine amino acids
- disulfide bridges form cross-links that can stabilize protein structures (ex: hair)
what is the polarity of the sulfhydryl group
relatively non polar
what is the phosphate group
- phosphates can donate H+’s into solution making them weakly acidic
- each phosphate can give up to 2 H+’s into solution
describe phosphate group polarity
very polar, phosphate provides polarity to the
parent molecule
what does the ionized form contribute
a negative charge to the parent molecule (ex: DNA)
what is the phosphate a constituent of
phosphate groups are constituents of phospholipids:
– contributes to the polarity of the head region
was is each nucleotide composed of
a nitrogenous base, a 5-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group
–the acidic phosphate contributes more to the pH exhibited by the molecules
how many phosphate groupds does ATP contain
3 phosphate groups covalently bonded to one another
what does ATP stand for
adenosine triphosphate
how does each phosphate group being negatively charged affect its stability
since each phosphate group is neg charged, the groups naturally repel each other creating a relatively high degree of instability.
what type of bonds are used in the phosphate group
- due to the repelling nature of the phosphates, the covalent bonds
keeping them together are high energy bonds. - this energy can be used to power a variety energy-requiring tasks in a cell (ex: movement of vesicles along microtubules)
what is the polarity of the methyl group
non polar
describe the characteristics of the methyl group
methyl groups (-CH3) can be added to certain molecules to act as an identity tag or a signal which will be read by various enzymes
give an example of the methyl group
- DNA can be methylated which will directly affect gene expression - methyl groups are present on male and female sex hormones to alter their shape and therefore their function
how can chemical behaviour be predicted
when it is known what kinds of functional groups are present
what are isomers
isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula (i.e. the
same numbers and types of atoms) but different structures and properties.
what are the three important kinds of biology
- structural isomers
- gerometric isomers
- optical isomers
what are structural isomers
structural isomers have different covalent arrangements of their
atoms
** structure=function
what are geometric isomers
structural isomers have the same covalent arrangements of their
atoms
what is the difference between a cis isomer and a trans isomer
- cis is the same side (better fat and better chance of dissolving in water)
- trans is diagonal
what is rhodopsin
the visual pigment rhodopsin in the human eye rotates around a double bond when hit by light at the back of the retina, transforming from its cis isomer to trans isomer
what are enantiomers
- enantiomers are isomers that are mirror images of each other
- usually consists of a carbon (i.e. asymmetric carbon) attached to
four different functional groups - cells will recognize one enantiomer (biologically active) but not the other
how are enantiomers and drugs related
two enantiomers of a drug may have different effects, which demonstrates that organisms are sensitive to even subtle variations in molecules
what are macromolecules
macromolecules are large molecules composed of thousands of covalently connected atoms
what is dehydration synthesis
monomers form larger molecules by condensation reactions (dehydration reactions)
– requires energy and catalyst
how to breakdown molecules
Polymers are disassembled to
monomers by hydrolysis
– occurs passively but cells use a catalyst
