Chapter 4 - Carbom And Diversity Of Life Flashcards
Is carbon dioxide an organic molecule?
No because lacks hydrogen.
What determines the function of a molecule?
It’s shape.
What determines the kind and number of bonds that an atom can form? Why is this important?
Electron configuration or valence electrons determine how many bonds can form and what arrangement. This is important in molecular shape.
What is vitalism?
The theory that life processes arise from or contain a nonmaterial vital principle that cannot be entirely explained as a physical and chemical phenomena.
It was believes that only living organisms could produce organic compounds.
What is abiotic synthesis?
Organic compounds were synthesized from inorganic compounds without the use of biological agents such as enzymes or Nucleic acids.
What is mechanism?
Belief that all natural phenomena are governed by physical an chemical laws.
What shifted the mainstream biological thought of vitalism to mechanism?
Pioneers of organic chemistry began to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic molecules.
What can you deduce given the chemical formula for glucose?
Molecular mass and solubility in water.
What is the diversity of carbon compounds related to?
1) 4 valence electrons and does not tend to form ionic bonds. Tend to form covalent bonds with tetra valence and make it a good junction molecule.
2) carbon compounds may contain one or more carbon atoms. The atoms bonded to atoms may vary.
3) carbon atoms can form a variety of skeletons.
What is an isomer?
Same molecular formula but different structure.
What are the types of isomers?
Structural, Cis-trans or geometric, and enantiomers.
What are some properties of hydrocarbons?
Organic molecules consisting of only C and H.
Form non polar bonds that tend not to be very soluble in water. Ex. Role of hydrocarbons in fats.
What is a structural isomer?
Differ in covalent arrangement of their atoms and location of double bonds.
Same formula, different skeleton.
What is a Cis-trans isomer?
Same arrangement of covalent bonds but differ in spatial arrangement due to inflexibility of double bonds.
Double bonds fix carbons together.
What is an enantiomers?
Isomers that are mirror images of each other and differ in shape due to presence of an asymmetric carbon that is attached to 4 different atoms.
Explain how the variation of chemical groups is important.
Variation in chemical groups attached to the carbon skeleton. Groups contribute differences in molecular shape and characteristic chemical reactivity.
Ex. Male and female sex hormones
What is a functional group?
A group of atoms within a molecule that is responsible for certain properties of the molecule and reactions in which the molecule takes part.
Why are all of the 6 functional groups hydrophilic except for sulfhydryl?
Not ionized, non-polar covalent compounds.
Review chemical groups and properties.
Pg 71
Which functional group behaves as a base?
Amino. Picks up protons.
What functional group plays a major role in energy transfer?
Phosphate.
What functional group behaves as an acid?
Carboxyl.
