BIOL 111 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Thiol, Cytidine, Glycerol
Document Summary
Carbon makes all life possible on earth, in all forms of life. Organic chemistry- branch of chemistry specializing in carbon compounds. Carbon compounds range from simple molecules to proteins. Percentages of c,h,n,o,p, and s in organisms is uniform. People gradually learned about organic compounds throughout history. Organic chemistry used to improve yield of products. Chemists learned how to produce/synthesize compounds in the lab. Vitalism, the belief of a life force outside of physical/chemical laws, provided discipline for organic chemistry. Some chemists tried to mix complex organic compounds on their own (wohler and kolbe) Stanley miller helps bring abiotic synthesis of organic compounds into action. Said that complex organic molecules could arise spontaneously under conditions that existed on early earth. Graduate student discovered samples from miller"s experiments analyzed them with equipment and identified new organic compounds that were not found by miller. Focus shifted to mechanism, the view that physical/chemical govern all natural phenomena, including processes of life.
