Outline of carbon and molecular diversity

Like carbon, silicon has four electrons in its outer shell.

Students might struggle to extrapolate the properties of lipids to their roles in an organism. An amino group NH2 consists of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms and the carbon skeleton. The ability of carbon to form four covalent bonds makes large, complex molecules possible.

Maltose 28 3. Structural isomers have the same molecular formula but differ in the covalent arrangement of atoms.

Ask your students why this is true. Carbon has little tendency to form ionic bonds by losing or gaining 4 electrons to complete its valence shell. The foundation of organic chemistry is not a mysterious life force but rather the unique versatility of carbon-based compounds.

Concept 4. Hydrocarbons consist of the partially decomposed remains of organisms that lived millions of years ago.