What is the difference between carbon skeletons and functional groups

Two molecules containing the same types and numbers of atoms but different bonding sequences are called enantiomers. Skip to content Microbial Biochemistry. Learning Objectives Identify common elements and structures found in organic molecules Explain the concept of isomerism Identify examples of functional groups Describe the role of functional groups in synthesizing polymers.

Clinical Focus: Cristina, Part 1 Cristina is a year-old student who visited her doctor, complaining about an itchy skin rash. What kinds of substances would you expect to find in a moisturizing cream?

What physical or chemical properties of these substances would help alleviate itching and inflammation of the skin? Think about It Describe the most abundant elements in nature. What are the differences between organic and inorganic molecules? Think about It We say that life is carbon based.

What makes carbon so suitable to be part of all the macromolecules of living organisms? Think about It What is the byproduct of a dehydration synthesis reaction? Key Concepts and Summary The most abundant elements in cells are hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Life is carbon based. Each carbon atom can bind to another one producing a carbon skeleton that can be straight, branched, or ring shaped. The same numbers and types of atoms may bond together in different ways to yield different molecules called isomers.

Isomers may differ in the bonding sequence of their atoms structural isomers or in the spatial arrangement of atoms whose bonding sequences are the same stereoisomers , and their physical and chemical properties may vary slightly or drastically.

Functional groups confer specific chemical properties to molecules bearing them. Common functional groups in biomolecules are hydroxyl, methyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, phosphate, and sulfhydryl. Macromolecules are polymers assembled from individual units, the monomers , which bind together like building blocks.

Many biologically significant macromolecules are formed by dehydration synthesis , a process in which monomers bind together by combining their functional groups and generating water molecules as byproducts.

Multiple Choice Which of these elements is not a micronutrient? Think about It Why are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen the most abundant elements in living matter and, therefore, considered macronutrients? Identify the functional group in each of the depicted structural formulas. The structural formula shown corresponds to penicillin G, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic that is given intravenously or intramuscularly as a treatment for several bacterial diseases.

The antibiotic is produced by fungi of the genus Penicillium. Identify three major functional groups in this molecule that each comprise two simpler functional groups.

Organic Chemistry. Search for:. Functional Groups. Learning Objective Describe the importance of functional groups to organic molecules. Key Points Functional groups are collections of atoms that attach the carbon skeleton of an organic molecule and confer specific properties.

Each type of organic molecule has its own specific type of functional group. Then, click the "Get Problem" button, and the problem will appear to the left of the molecule drawing window, and instructions on how to proceed will appear on the right. When you have finished identifying, or drawing, the functional groups, click on the "Check" button. Feedback on your answer will be provided to the right of the molecular editor window and your score will be updated.

If the answers are not correct, study the feedback carefully and consult the relevant Help pages if you wish, then modify the answers and click on the "Check" button again. You must complete each problem before you can choose another one. Review your progress regularly and move on to problems of a different level of difficulty, or of a different type, as appropriate. Macromolecules are degraded by hydrolysis reactions.

Example- Imagine that you had an A encyclopedia and a B encyclopedia and you wanted to neatly connect the two together. You could remove the front cover of the B encyclopedia and the back cover of the A encyclopedia and then carefully bind them together.

The two book covers that are removed are like the two parts of water that are removed during dehydration synthesis. What process would a cell use to break down a polymer?

More about hydrolysis and dehydration synthesis. All Rights Reserved.