Categories of Organic Compounds

An organic compound is: a covalently bonded compound that contains carbon excluding carbonates and oxides.

There are 4 major types of organic compounds.

1. Carbohydrates:

• contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
• can be energy sources or structural sources
• exist as monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides

2. Proteins:

• chains of amino acids made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
• Examples: hair, horns, enzymes

3. Lipids:

• large number of carbon hydrogen bonds, nonpolar bodies, polar head, store energy
• Examples: wakes, steroids, triglycerides, phospholipids

4. Nucleic Acids:

• large complex information
• storage molecules
• 2 types: DNA and RNA
• consist of nitrogenous bases, phosphate groups, and 5 carbon sugars