1. 3.2 Introduction to Organic Molecules

2. Organic Compounds: Carbon
What is an Organic Compound?
A group of molecules that contain carbon-hydrogen bonds.
Carbon forms the key components of all life on Earth. Carbon can have up to 4 bonds because of its structure.
Why study organic compounds?
All living things are made of organic compounds!
Organic Compounds: Carbon

3. Organic Compounds: The Recipe
What else makes up the recipe for life? All types of organic compounds contain carbon, but they may also contain:
Sulfur, phosphorous, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen
Along with hydrogen, carbon bonds with these elements to form an organic compound.
Organic Compounds: The Recipe

4. Organic Compounds: Four Types:
There are four major categories of organic molecules that are found in all living things:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Nucleic Acids
Proteins
These are large molecules known as Macromolecules
Organic Compounds: Four Types:

5. Organic Compounds: Monomers and Polymers
Each of the four types of macromolecules are made of smaller subunits called monomers.
Mono = one A monomer is a single unit of a structure
Poly = many A polymer is a larger structure made up of monomers.
Analogy: a brick house is the polymer. What are the monomers (building blocks) of the house?
Organic Compounds: Monomers and Polymers

6. Dehydration Synthesis
Dehydration Synthesis: removes water to join monomers to form a polymer.
It’s a chemical reaction:
Monomer + Monomer Polymer + H2O
Ways to Form Polymers
Dehydration Synthesis

7. Ways to Break Apart Polymers
Hydrolysis: breaks the bonds in a polymer by adding water to create monomers.
It’s also a chemical reaction:
Polymer H2O Monomer Monomer
Ways to Break Apart Polymers
Hydrolysis