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Dear Diary,
Today I learned many wonderful things. For example, did you know that carbon is the second most important thing for life after water? About 25% of cells is composed of carbon compounds. The reason carbon is so prevalent is due to its versatility, which is a result of it being capable of forming 4 stable covalent bonds.
Organic Chemistry is the study of these carbon compounds, such as hydrocarbons. These combinations of carbon and hydrogen are non-polar, hydrophobic, and are gas at room temperature.
Isomers are molecules that have different structures yet the same molecular formula. Their different structures gives them different properties and functions. An example of this is alanine. One form of alanine, L-alanine is used in proteins, while the other, D-alanine, is unusable.
Look at all the diversity!
The diversity of all the different combinations of atoms or groups around the carbon is numerous. What accounts for this diversity are the functional groups, which are the parts of organic molecules that are involved in chemical reactions. These functional groups interact with different targets in the body and cause different effects. These include hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, sulfhydryl, and phosphate.
