INTRODUCTION TO CARBON

1. Carbon is the basic building block for all forms of life on Earth.

2. Fortunately, carbon is also one of the most abundant elements on our planet.

3. It is the fourth most abundant element in the universe and it is the second most abundant element in the human body.

WHY IS CARBON IMPORTANT

1. 18% of all living things on earth is comprised of carbon.

2. That includes human beings, plants, and animals. Like all animals, humans have a metabolic need for carbon.

WHY IS CARBON IMPORTANT

HOW DO WE GET CARBON

1. We get carbon by eating carbohydrates which are produced in plants during photosynthesis.

PLANTS

1. Carbon is the key for photosynthesis, which ultimately provides food for all living things on Earth.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS:LIFE FROM LIGHT AND AIR

MEANS “PUTTING TOGETHER WITH LIGHT”

1. Photosynthesis is the process by which autotrophic organisms use light energy to make sugar and oxygen gas from carbon dioxide and water

AN OVERVIEW OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Carbondioxide

Water Glucose Oxygengas

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

THE FOOD WEB

ANIMALS

1. Animals are dependent upon water to drink as well as oxygen to breathe.

2. Without carbon, plants would not be able to produce:

a) Water

b) Oxygen

c) Food

ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

1. Definition: Carbon bonds to other atoms and determine structure and function of living things.

2. Carbon usually bonds with:

a) Hydrogen

b) Oxygen

c) Nitrogen

d) Carbon

3. Why do you think carbon usually bonds with these four elements?

CARBON ELEMENT

CELL STRUCTURE

1. Due to their physical structure and chemical properties, carbon atoms may form a number of structures

a) Configurations that are key to cell structure and functioning.

THE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON

1. Carbon is the chemical basis for most of the molecules that are important to maintaining life.

a) Carbohydrates

b) Lipids (fats)

c) Proteins

d) Nucleic Acids (DNA, RNA)

THE BASIS OF LIFE

1. Carbon atoms are found not only in all plants and animals, but in all other living life forms as well. Without carbon, life as we know it would simply not exist.