Carbon Compounds and Formation
Carbon atoms are incredibly versatile because they have 4 electrons in their outer shell, allowing them to form four covalent bonds with other elements or carbon atoms. These bonds create various structures like straight chains, branched chains, or rings, giving carbon compounds their diversity.
In organic molecules, special clusters of atoms called functional groups determine how compounds behave and interact. These functional groups give distinct properties to different carbon-based molecules.
Large carbon molecules follow a building-block approach. Small units called monomers join together through chemical bonds to create polymers. When these polymers get very large, we call them macromolecules—these form the basis of living organisms.
Did you know? The process that joins monomers into polymers is called a condensation reaction, which releases water as a byproduct. This is how your body builds many important molecules!