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Unit 4: Properties of carbon

About this unit

This unit is part of the Biology library. Browse videos, articles, and exercises by topic.
Learn why carbon is a fantastic building block for biological molecules! We'll look at carbon's atomic structure and ability to form bonds...and as a special bonus, we'll investigate the possibility of silicon-based life forms.
Carbon-containing molecules come in many shapes, sizes and types. Here, get an overview of different hydrocarbon structures, learn about isomers (molecules with the same atoms arranged in different ways), and check out some of the key functional groups found in biological molecules.
Biology is brought to you with support from the Amgen Foundation