2.3 Carbon Compounds

Carbon Compounds
Learning Objectives
 Identify the elements that carbon bonds with to make up
life’s molecules.
 Explain the functions of each of the four groups of
macromolecules.
The Chemistry of Carbon
• Chemists once called the compounds in

living things “organic,” believing they were
different from nonliving compounds.
• Later it was found that living things obey

the same chemical principles as nonliving.
• “Organic chemistry” referring today to the

chemistry of carbon.
Carbon atoms have four valence electrons,

allowing them to form strong covalent bonds
with many other elements.
Carbon can bond with many elements—

including hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus,
sulfur, and nitrogen—to form compounds
with many different chemical properties.
Living organisms depend upon these
compounds.
One carbon atom can bond to another, which
gives carbon the ability to form chains that are
almost unlimited in length.
Carbon-carbon bonds can be single, double, or

triple covalent bonds.
Chains of carbon atoms can even close up on

themselves to form rings,
No other element matches carbon’s versatility or

the size of molecules that carbon can build.
Chain Ring Branching chain
Carbon can form single, double, or triple bonds with

other atoms.
Each line between atoms in a molecular drawing
represents one covalent bond
Macromolecules
The large organic molecules found in living things are known as
macromolecules, literally—“giant molecules”—because of their size.
Most macromolecules are produced by a process known as

polymerization: (larger compounds are built by joining smaller ones
together)
The smaller units, or monomers, are joined together to form polymers.
The monomers in a polymer may be identical, like the links on a metal

watchband, or different, like the beads in a multicolored necklace
Macromolecules
Macromolecules are large organic molecules found in living things.
Four major groups of macromolecules are found in living things:
carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Monomers
Polymer
Carbohydrates
Examples : sugar, starch, and cellulose.
Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, usually in a

ratio of 1 : 2 : 1.
Organisms use carbohydrates to store and release energy, as well as for

structural support and protection.
The breakdown of sugars, such as glucose, supplies immediate energy for cell
activities.
Many organisms store extra sugar as complex carbohydrates known as starches.

The monomers are sugar molecules (monosaccharides) polymers are starch.
Carbohydrates
onosaccharides :
m
•Glucose, monomer of starch
•Galactose, which is a component of milk.
•Fructose, which is found in many fruits.
•Ordinary table sugar, sucrose, is a disaccharide (a compound

made by joining together two simple sugars) of fructose and
glucose.
Carbohydrates
Living things use carbohydrates as sources of energy and for
structural purposes.
Polymer Monomer
Polysaccharide Monosaccharide
Carbohydrates
Complex Carbohydrates
The macromolecules formed by joining many monosaccharides
together are known as polysaccharides.
Many animals store excess sugar in a polysaccharide called glycogen.
When the level of glucose in your blood runs low, glycogen is broken
down into glucose, which is then released into the blood.
The glycogen stored in your muscles supplies the energy for muscle
contraction and, thus, for movement.
Carbohydrates
Starches and Cellulose
Plants use a slightly different polysaccharide, called starch, to

store excess sugar.
Plants also make an important polysaccharide called cellulose.

Tough, flexible cellulose fibers give plants much of their strength
and rigidity.
Cellulose is the major component of both wood and paper,

Lipids
• Lipids are a large and varied group of macromolecules that
are generally not soluble in water.
•
• Lipids are made mostly from carbon and hydrogen atoms.
•
• Lipids include the compounds we call fats, oils, and waxes.
• Lipids can be used to store energy, and they form

important parts of biological membranes and waterproof
coverings.
• Many lipids, such as steroid hormones, function as chemical

messengers.
Lipids
• Many lipids are formed when a glycerol molecule combines with
compounds called fatty acids.
• If each carbon atom in these fatty acid chains is joined to another
carbon atom by a single bond, the lipid is said to be saturated
because the fatty acids contain the maximum possible number of
hydrogen atoms.
• If there is at least one carbon-carbon double bond in a fatty acid,
the fatty acid is said to be unsaturated.
• Lipids whose fatty acids contain more than one double bond are
said to be polyunsaturated.
• Lipids that contain unsaturated fatty acids, such as olive oil, tend to
be liquids at room temperature.
• Other cooking oils, such as corn oil, sesame oil, canola oil, and
peanut oil, contain polyunsaturated lipids.
Lipids
Lipid molecules, like
this triglyceride, are
built from fatty acids
and glycerol.
Olive oil, which
contains mainly
Unsaturated
unsaturated fatty acids,
is liquid at room
temperature.
Nucleic Acids
• nucleotides are monomers that consist of three components: a 5-
carbon sugar, a phosphate group (–PO4), and a nitrogenous base.
•
• Nucleic acids are polymers assembled from nucleotides.
• Some nucleotides, including the compound known as adenosine

triphosphate (ATP), have important functions in capturing and
transferring chemical energy.
• Individual nucleotides can be joined by covalent bonds to form a

polynucleotide, or nucleic acid.
Nucleic Acids
Nucleic acids are polymers made of nucleotide monomers.
Nitrogenous base
Phosphate group
5-carbon sugar
Nucleic Acids
• There are two kinds of nucleic acids:
 Ribonucleic acid (RNA).
 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
 RNA contains the sugar ribose while DNA contains the sugar
deoxyribose.
• The sequence of bases in both DNA and RNA contains

information used by the cell to build other molecules such as
proteins.
• Nucleic acids store and transmit hereditary, or genetic,
information.
Proteins
• Proteins are macromolecules containing nitrogen as well as
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
• Proteins are polymers of molecules called amino acids.
• Amino acids are compounds with an amino group (–NH2)

on one end and a carboxyl group (–COOH) on the other
end.
• The amino acid tyrosine: is used to produce a hormone, or

chemical messenger, known as thyroxine. Thyroxine is
produced in the thyroid gland from tyrosine and four atoms
of iodine.
Proteins
Peptide bonds are covalent bonds that are formed between the amino group of one amino acid and the carboxyl group of another amino acid
to form polypeptides.
Amino group: - NH2

Carboxyl group: - COOH
Amino group Carboxyl group
Peptide
bond
Proteins
• A protein is a functional molecule built from one or more
polypeptides.
• Proteins can have a variety of shapes and sizes, and they

serve a variety of purposes as well.
• Some proteins function to control the rate of reactions

and regulate cell processes. Others form important
cellular structures, while still others transport
substances into or out of cells or help to fight disease.
• Hair and nails are made of protein.

Proteins
• Proteins enable the cells of the
body to communicate and interact.
• Many cells have proteins exposed
on their surfaces that act as
receptors to certain compounds.
When a receptor encounters such
a compound, it transmits a
chemical signal into the cell,
setting off a response. The result
may be an increase or decrease in
cellular activity, the production of a
new protein, or a change in the
cell’s pattern of growth and
development (non steroidal
hormones action)
Proteins
• More than 20 different amino acids are found in nature.
• All amino acids are identical in the regions where they may
be joined together by covalent bonds. This uniformity allows
any amino acid to be joined to any other amino acid by
linking an amino group to a carboxyl group.
• Proteins are among the most diverse macromolecules.
Because amino acids differ from each other in a side chain
called the R-group, which can have a range of different
properties.
• Some R-groups are acidic and some are basic. Some are
polar, some are nonpolar, and some even contain large ring
structures. Two of the amino acids—methionine and
cysteine—contain sulfur in their R-groups.
Proteins
• Amino acids are assembled into polypeptide chains
according to instructions coded in DNA. However, proteins
do not take on a linear shape. Instead, the polypeptides
bend and twist into three-dimensional shapes.
• Scientists describe proteins as having four levels of
structure.
 The sequence of its amino acids.
 The folding or coiling of the polypeptide chain.
 The complete three-dimensional arrangement of a
polypeptide chain.
 Proteins with more than one chain are said to have a fourth
level of structure, describing the way in which the different
polypeptides are arranged with respect to each other.
Protein Structure
• A protein is a functional molecule
built from one or more
polypeptides.
• The protein hemoglobin
consists of four subunits. The
iron-containing heme group in
the center of each subunit gives
hemoglobin its red color. An
oxygen molecule binds tightly to
each heme group.

2.3 Carbon Compounds

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2.3 Carbon Compounds

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Carbon Compounds

• Chemists once called the compounds in

• Later it was found that living things obey

• “Organic chemistry” referring today to the

Carbon atoms have four valence electrons,

Carbon can bond with many elements—

Carbon-carbon bonds can be single, double, or

Chains of carbon atoms can even close up on

No other element matches carbon’s versatility or

Chain Ring Branching chain

Carbon can form single, double, or triple bonds with

Most macromolecules are produced by a process known as

The smaller units, or monomers, are joined together to form polymers.

The monomers in a polymer may be identical, like the links on a metal

Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, usually in a

Organisms use carbohydrates to store and release energy, as well as for

Many organisms store extra sugar as complex carbohydrates known as starches.

•Galactose, which is a component of milk.

•Fructose, which is found in many fruits.

•Ordinary table sugar, sucrose, is a disaccharide (a compound

Many animals store excess sugar in a polysaccharide called glycogen.

Plants use a slightly different polysaccharide, called starch, to

Plants also make an important polysaccharide called cellulose.

Cellulose is the major component of both wood and paper,

• Lipids can be used to store energy, and they form

• Many lipids, such as steroid hormones, function as chemical

• Some nucleotides, including the compound known as adenosine

• Individual nucleotides can be joined by covalent bonds to form a

• The sequence of bases in both DNA and RNA contains

• Proteins are polymers of molecules called amino acids.

• Amino acids are compounds with an amino group (–NH2)

• The amino acid tyrosine: is used to produce a hormone, or

Amino group: - NH2

Amino group Carboxyl group

• Proteins can have a variety of shapes and sizes, and they

• Some proteins function to control the rate of reactions

• Hair and nails are made of protein.

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