Organic Chemistry: Carbon's Role in Life

Study Notes

Carbon creates diverse molecules, important for life.
Carbon-based compounds make up the majority of living organisms.
Carbon's unique ability to form large, complex, and varied molecules is vital.
Organic molecules, like proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates, are essential for life.

Organic chemistry studies carbon-containing compounds, regardless of origin.
The study includes simple and complex molecules.
Stanley Miller's experiment demonstrated abiotic synthesis of organic compounds.
This supports the theory that abiotic synthesis near volcanoes could have played a part in the origin of life.

The major elements of life (C, H, O, N, S, P) are relatively uniform across organisms.
Carbon's ability to form four bonds contributes to the diversity of organic molecules.
Carbon's versatility is responsible for the wide range of organisms on Earth.

Carbon's electron configuration determines its chemical characteristics.
It can form four covalent bonds due to its four valence electrons.
This allows carbon to form large and complex molecules.
Carbon atoms form a tetrahedral shape when bonded to 4 other atoms.
Two carbon atoms joined by a double bond have atoms in the same plane as the carbon atoms.
The number of unpaired electrons typically equals the valence of an atom, determining the number of covalent bonds it can form.
Carbon's electron configuration allows it to bond with many different elements.
The most common bonding partners for carbon are hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Variations in carbon skeletons contribute to the variety of organic molecules.
Carbon skeletons can form chains of varying lengths and shapes.
Carbon can bond with various atoms, including oxygen in carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen in urea.

Isomers have the same molecular formula but different structures and properties.
Structural isomers have different covalent arrangements.
Cis-trans isomers differ in spatial arrangements despite having the same covalent bonds.
Enantiomers are mirror images of each other.
Enantiomers have significance in the pharmaceutical industry as they can have different effects.