THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO BIOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY
ORGANIC MOLECULES
- Organic molecules are chemical compounds that contain carbon.
- The structures of most biological molecules are based on carbon atoms that are bonded to other carbon atoms, or to atoms of nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, or hydrogen.
-Carbon atoms have four valence electrons. This enables them to form four covalent bonds.
-These four covalent bonds give carbon carbon-based molecules the ability to form a variety of structures: chains, branches, and rings. These basic carbon-based structures subsequently become the building blocks of even more complex structures.