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In a 2018 study, carbon was found to compose approximately 550 billion tons of all life on Earth. [ 16][ 17] It is the second most abundant element in the human body by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen. [ 18] The most important characteristics of carbon as a basis for the chemistry of cellular life are that each carbon atom is capable of forming ...
t. e. A biogeochemical cycle, or more generally a cycle of matter, [ 1] is the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth's crust. Major biogeochemical cycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. In each cycle, the chemical element or ...
Carbon compounds. Carbon compounds are defined as chemical substances containing carbon. [ 1][ 2] More compounds of carbon exist than any other chemical element except for hydrogen. Organic carbon compounds are far more numerous than inorganic carbon compounds. In general bonds of carbon with other elements are covalent bonds.
Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C 60. It has a cage-like fused-ring structure ( truncated icosahedron) made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, and resembles a football. Each of its 60 carbon atoms is bonded to its three neighbors.
A biomolecule or biological molecule is loosely defined as a molecule produced by a living organism and essential to one or more typically biological processes. [ 1] Biomolecules include large macromolecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids, as well as small molecules such as vitamins and hormones.
Terrestrial biological carbon cycle. Interconnection between carbon, hydrogen and oxygen cycle in metabolism of photosynthesizing plants. The carbon cycle is an essential part of life on Earth. About half the dry weight of most living organisms is carbon. [citation needed] It plays an important role in the structure, biochemistry, and nutrition ...
Catabolism. Catabolism ( / kəˈtæbəlɪzəm /) is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. [ 1] Catabolism breaks down large molecules (such as polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins) into smaller units (such as ...
A carbon source is a carbon -containing molecule that is used by an organism to synthesise biomass. Such sources may be organic or inorganic. Heterotrophs must use organic molecules as a source of both carbon and energy. In contrast, autotrophs may use inorganic materials as a source for both, such as inorganic chemical energy (chemolithotrophs ...