1. Ch 2.3 CARBON COMPOUNDS

2. CARBON IS THE PRINCIPLE ELEMENT IN THE LARGE STRUCTURES THAT LIVING THINGS MAKE AND USE. ORGANIC COMPOUNDS CONTAIN CARBON. CARBON HAS 4 VALENCE ELECTRONS AND CAN EASILY JOIN WITH OTHER ATOMS TO MAKE LARGE COMPLEX STRUCTURES MOST COMPLEX MACROMOLECULES ARE POLYMERS WHICH ARE MADE OF SMALLER UNITS CALLED MONOMERS.

3. CARBOHYDRATES CONTAIN CARBON, HYDROGEN & OXYGEN STARCHES & SUGARS STORE CHEMICAL ENERGY AND HAVE SOME STRUCTURAL PURPOSES. VARIABLE SIZE. SIMPLE SUGARS ARE MONOSACCHARIDES; LARGER ARE POLYSACCHARIDES.

5. CARBOHYDRATES BREAKDOWN OF SUGARS SUCH AS GLUCOSE SUPPLY IMMEDIATE ENERGY FOR CELL ACTIVITIES. LIVING THINGS STORE EXTRA SUGAR AS COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES KNOWN AS STARCHES. LONG SUGAR CHAINS ARE CALLED POLYSACCHARIDES

6. NUCLEIC ACIDS CONTAIN HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, NITROGEN, CARBON, & PHOSPHOROUS. NUCLEIC ACIDS ARE THE MACROMOLECULES OF INHERITANCE: DNA (DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID) & RNA (RIBONUCLEIC ACID) MADE FROM MONOMERS CALLED NUCLEOTIDES.

8. PROTEINS CONTAIN NITROGEN, CARBON, HYDROGEN & OXYGEN. MADE UP OF MONOMERS CALLED AMINO ACIDS. PROTEINS CAN HAVE UP TO 4 LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION: - AMINO ACID SEQUENCE IN A CHAIN - TWISTING & FOLDING OF AA’S IN CHAIN - FOLDING OF THE CHAIN ITSELF - PAIRING UP OF TWO CHAINS

10. PROTEINS PROTEINS ARE VERY DIVERSE: - CONTROL REACTION RATES WITHIN CELLS - REGULATE CELL PROCESSES - HELP FIGHT DISEASES - FORM BONES & MUSCLES - TRANSPORT SUBSTANCES IN/OUT OF CELLS

11. LIPIDS CONTAIN CARBON & HYDROGEN. FATS, OILS & WAXES. CAN BE USED TO STORE ENERGY. LIPIDS MAKE UP IMPORTANT PARTS OF BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES AS WELL AS WATERPROOF COVERINGS. LIPIDS FORM WHEN A GLYCEROL MOLECULE COMBINES WITH FATTY ACIDS.

12. GLYCEROL FATTY ACIDS