Topic 2; The Chemical Building Blocks of Life
Building blocks of life • Carbon based: organic molecules • Carbohydrates: CHO • Lipids: CHO, water insoluble • Proteins: CHONS, structure/function in cells • Nucleic acids: CHONP, hereditary (genetic) information Carbon • Can make 4 covalent bonds1 • Chains • Straight • Branched • Ring • Hydrocarbons2 (C, H): store energy • Functional groups • Attach to carbon • Alter chemical properties • Form macromolecules • Sapoteton Carbohydrates • Principally CHO (rare N, S and P) • 1C:2H:1O ratio • Energy rich (many C-H bonds) • Monosaccharides (principal: glucose3) • Simple sugars • Principle formula: C6H12O6 • Form rings in water solution • Disaccharides (sucrose, lactose) • Polysaccharides (starch, glycogen, cellulose, chitin) fig 1.sources of carbohydrates Stereoisomers • Bond angles of carbon point to corners of a tetrahedron • When 4 different groups are attached to a carbon, it ...