compounds containing carbon are said
to be organic, and their study is called organic chemistry
Carbon atoms can form diverse
molecules by bonding to four
other atoms
The Formation of Bonds with CarbonSince each carbon atom has 4 valence electrons in the outer most shell which can held up to 8 electrons. The electron configuration of carbon gives it covalent compatibility with many different elements.
Molecular Diversity Arising from Variation in Carbon Skeletons
Hydrocarbons
Isomers: compounds that have the same numbers of
atoms of the same elements but different structures and hence different properties.
Structural isomers differ in the covalent arrangements of their atoms.
Chemical groups
chemical groups are directly involved in chemical reactions; such groups are known as functional groups
ATP:
organic phosphate, adenosine triphosphate
ATP consists of an organic molecule called adenosine attached to a string of three phosphate groups
Having lost one phosphate, ATP becomes adenosine diphosphate, or ADP. Although ATP is sometimes said to store energy, it is more accurate to think of it as storing the potential to react with water or other molecules
