that's why carbon is a tramp: crash course biology #1 worksheet

Carbon is also, as I mentioned before, a bit of a tramp, because it needs four extra electrons, and so it'll bond with pretty much whoever happens to be nearby. And also, because it needs four electrons, it'll bond with two or three or even four of those things at the same time.

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What molecules can carbon bond with?

And carbon is, you know, willing and interested to bond with lots of different molecules. Like hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, or to other molecules of carbon. It can do this in infinite configurations, allowing it to be the core atom of complicated structures that make living things like ourselves.

How do Lewis dot structures work?

In biology, most compounds can be displayed in Lewis dot structure form, and here's how that works. These structures basically show how atoms bond together to make up molecules. And one of the rules of thumb when making these diagrams is that the elements that we're working with here react with one other in such a way that each atom ends up with eight electrons in its outermost shell. That is called the octet rule, cause atoms want to complete their octets of electrons to be happy and satisfied.#N#Oxygen has six electrons in its octet, and needs two, which is why we get H 2 O. It can also bond with carbon, which needs four, so you get two double bonds to two different oxygen atoms, you end up with CO 2, that pesky global warming gas and also the stuff that makes all life on Earth possible.#N#Nitrogen has five electrons in its outer shell. Here’s how we count them. There are four placeholders. Each of them wants two atoms. And, like people getting on a bus, they prefer to start out not sitting next to each other. I’m not kidding about this, they really don’t double up until they have to. So for maximum happiness, nitrogen bonds with three hydrogens, forming ammonia. Or with two hydrogens, sticking off another group of atoms, which we call an amino group. And if that amino group is bonded to a carbon that is bonded to a carboxylic acid group, then you have an amino acid! You've heard of those, right?

How many electrons does carbon need to bond?

Carbon is also, as I mentioned before, a bit of a tramp, because it needs four extra electrons, and so it'll bond with pretty much whoever happens to be nearby. And also, because it needs four electrons, it'll bond with two or three or even four of those things at the same time.

How many protons does carbon have?

It has six protons and six neutrons, for a total atomic weight of twelve. Because of that, carbon doesn’t take up a lot of space, and so carbon can form itself into weird rings, and sheets, and spirals, and double and even triple bonds. It can do all sorts of things that could never be accomplished by more bulky atoms.

Why is life only possible on Earth?

Life is only possible on Earth because carbon is always floating around in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.

What is the level of complexity just below biology?

The level of complexity just below biology is chemistry, unless you’re a biochemist, in which case, you would argue that it’s biochemistry. Either way, we're gonna have to know a little bit of chemistry in order to get through biology. And so that, my friends, is where we’re gonna start.

Does carbon know what it's like to be alone?

No, carbon knows what it's like to be alone, and so it's not all, “Please! I'll do anything for your electrons!”, needy like fluorine or chlorine or sodium is. Elements like chlorine, if you breathe them in, they like literally tear up your insides. And sodium, sodium is insane, if you like put it in water, it explodes!