Greetings ! Carbon Based Life Forms

1. Greetings! Carbon Based Life Forms

2. Organic Compounds • Scientists once thought that all carbon compounds came from living or once-living organisms, and they called these compounds organic. Scientists now know that carbon is also in many nonliving things. • Today, scientists define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains carbon atoms usually bonded to at least one hydrogen atom. • Organic compounds can also contain other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, or sulfur.

3. CHONPS • The different elements that are included in organic compounds are: C – carbon H – hydrogen O – oxygen N – nitrogen P – phosphorous S – sulfur chomps with an ‘n’!

4. Not Organic • Compounds such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are not organic because they do not have a carbon-hydrogen bond. Don’t confuse organic compounds with organic food.

5. Nutrient Organic Molecules • The nutrient organic molecules that are important for life are carbohydrates (sugar), protein, and lipids (fat).

6. Nutrient Label on Food

7. Organic Molecules are made of chains of carbon atoms • There is energy in the bonds between the atoms in the molecules. • The more bonds, the more energy the molecule has.

8. Glucose (a simple Carbohydrate) • Carbon (the black colored atom) is the backbone for the glucose molecule.

9. Lipids - Fat • A fat molecule is made of a long chain of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms attached to them. There are many bonds, which means high energy!

10. Protein • Carbon is colored light blue in this model of a section of a protein molecule. Again, carbon is the backbone.