 The chemistry of carbon is very important to living things  Carbon has 4 electrons available for bonding  Can form 4 covalent bonds  Carbon can bond with many elements including hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur  All living things have carbon in them

 Carbon can also bond with itself  Because carbon can bond with itself, it can form REALLY long chains

 Some molecules are so large, they are known as macromolecules, or “giant molecules”  We’ve talked about these before…  …carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, amino acid, nucleic acid  Let’s look at more specifics

 Made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen  Main source of energy for living things  Sugars are “carbs”  When broken down, provide energy  Many living things store extra sugar is stored as starch

 Can be called monosaccarides and simple sugars  PS. Mono means 1  Examples include: glucose and galactose (found in milk) and fructose (found in fruits)  Table sugar, sucrose, is made up of both glucose and fructose and is a disaccharide  PS. Di means two.

 Large macromolecules formed when simple sugars join together  Many animals store extra sugar as a complex carb (glycogen)  When glucose in your blood runs low, glycogen is broken down into glucose and enters the blood stream  Plants use a different complex carb, starch, to store extra sugar.  Plants also make a complex carb called cellulose

 Cellulose gives plants their strength and rigidity.  Cellulose is the major part of wood and paper

 Fats, oils, and waxes are common lipids  Lipids are macromolecules that generally do not dissolve in water  Made of H and C  Some lipids store energy  Others form biological membranes  Some produce waterproof coverings on cells and tissues  6WFYA 6WFYA

 Many lipids are formed when a glycerol molecule joins with a fatty acid  Bonds are the “—” between the letters  If there are all single bonds, it is considered “saturated”  If there is a double-bond with any of the carbon, it is “unsaturated”  Lipids that have “unsaturated fatty acids are liquid at room temperature  ex.: olive oil

 Macromolecule containing H, O, N, C, P  Store and transmit genetic information  Two types-RNA ribonucleic acid  Contains ribose  DNA- deoxyribonucleic  Contains deoxyribose

 Micromolecules that contain: N, H, C, O  bzsM bzsM  Proteins make up Amino Acids  There are more than 20 different Amino acids  Functions: control cell processes and reaction rates, others form important parts in a cell, while others help fight disease  Amino Acids are joined in long chains according to instructions in the DNA