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Four Classes of Carbon Compounds

Generally speaking, organic compounds contain a significant amount of carbon. The term "organic" came about because the earliest carbon-based compounds were predominantly found in living things. While this is not necessarily true today, the distinction is still useful. Carbon compounds are broadly separated into four basic groups: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

  1. Carbohydrates

    • Carbohydrates, in the form of glucose, serve as the primary source of energy for almost all living things. Some carbohydrates also serve as structural materials, or building blocks, for other compounds. Carbohydrates are composed of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon molecules with a ratio of hydrogen to oxygen of 2:1. Carbohydrates are further grouped into simple and complex carbohydrates. Monosaccharides and disaccharides make up the simple carbohydrates, while polysaccharides are classified as complex carbohydrates.

    Lipids

    • Lipids are similarly composed of oxygen, hydrogen and oxygen; however, the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen is much higher than that of carbohydrates. Lipids are divided into three subcategories: steroids, waxes and fats. Fats are further separated into saturated and unsaturated fat, the distinguishing feature being the existence of double bonds in unsaturated fats. Generally speaking, the consumption of unsaturated fats is preferred to that of saturated fats, but both have their role in a healthy diet. Fats are not water soluble and are used by living organisms to store energy.

    Proteins

    • Proteins are the most complex class of organic compounds and are made up of strings of amino acids. Amino acids primarily consist of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen; however, some contain trace elements such as sulfur, phosphorous, iron or copper. Amino acids are linked together with peptide bonds, and simple proteins are often referred to as peptides. Proteins are built differently by all living organisms according to their specific genetic code which dictates how sequences of amino acids are strung together.

    Nucleic Acids

    • Nucleic acids are also relatively large organic compounds and consist of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a carbohydrate molecule, a phosphate group and a nitrogen-based molecule. Nucleic acids are the key ingredient to the creation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA contains the carbohydrate deoxyribose, while RNA has ribose. In addition, DNA contains the base thymine, while RNA has uracil. Both thymine and uracil are heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds.

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