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The Biochemistry of Carbon Compounds: Building Blocks of Life

Chapter 3 of Modern Biology explores biochemistry, focusing on carbon compounds, the essence of organic chemistry. Carbon's unique bonding capabilities allow it to form diverse and complex molecules essential for life, contributing to biological diversity. It discusses functional groups that influence molecular characteristics and chemical reactions. The chapter covers large carbon molecules—monomers and polymers—highlighting macromolecules like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids that store energy, transmit information, and perform vital biological functions.

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The Biochemistry of Carbon Compounds: Building Blocks of Life

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  1. Modern Biology: Chapter 3 Biochemistry

  2. Carbon Compounds • Organic compounds – primarily Carbon atoms • Large, complex molecules essential for life • Contributes to diversity of life • Carbon bonding • Has 4 valence electrons • Can form single, double, or triple covalent bonds • Can form straight or branched chains of itself • Can form rings of itself

  3. Functional Groups • Influence characteristics of molecules • Make polar with addition of charged entities • Affect chemical reactions molecules undergo • Allow bond formation between molecules • Some of these groups are – • Hydroxyl (R-OH) • Carboxyl (R-COOH) • Phosphate (R-PO4) • Amine (R-NH2)

  4. Large Carbon Molecules • Monomers • Small, simple molecules • Amino acid, fatty acid, nucleotide, monosaccharide • Polymer • Monomers join via condensation reactions • Polypeptides • Disaccharides • Polymers break down with hydrolysis reaction • Macromolecules -- Formed from large polymers -- Protein, lipids, nucleic acids, carbohydrates

  5. Energy Currency • Compounds store energy in chemical bonds • Certain ones’ overall structure stores energy • ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) • NADH (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) • NADPH (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) • FADH2 (Flavin adenine dinucleotide)

  6. Molecules of Life • Carbohydrates • (CH2O)n general formula n = 3–8 monosaccharides • Hundreds of glucose monomers make glycogen (animals) or starch & cellulose (plants) • Proteins • Composed of amino acids (C, H, O, N et al) • 20 essential amino acids, differ in –R groups • Amino acids joined via peptide bond between amino side of 1 & carboxyl side of another • Enzymes are protein catalysts

  7. Molecules of Life, continued • Lipids • Large, nonpolar organic molecules • Higher ratio of C & H atoms to O atoms than sugar • Types • Fatty acids (12-28 C chain with –COOH group) • Triglycerides (3 fatty acids attach to glycerol) • Phospholipids (2 fatty acids attach to phosphate on glycerol’s 3rd carbon) • Waxes (long fatty acid attaches to long alcohol chain) • Steroids (Four fused carbon rings + functional groups)

  8. Molecules of Life, continued • Nucleic acids • Store and transmit important info in the cell • DNA: determines traits & directs cell activities • RNA: stores/transmits info from DNA • Composed of nucleotides • Adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine or uracil • Made of 3 compartments • Phosphate group • 5-C sugar [(deoxy)ribose] • Ring-shaped nitrogenous base

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