Campbell’s Biology, 9e (Reece et al.)
Chapter 4 Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
This chapter focuses on the chemistry of carbon and organic compounds. Students should be able to
identify the nature of the bonds between carbon and other elements (nonpolar versus polar), the different
types of weak bonds and interactions, the various types of isomers, the basic functional groups of
organic molecules, and their relative solubility in water. The abiotic formation of organic molecules
from inorganic molecules is important in the origin of life.
Multiple-Choice Questions
1) The element present in all organic molecules is
A) hydrogen.
B) oxygen.
C) carbon.
D) nitrogen.
E) phosphorus.
2) The complexity and variety of organic molecules is due to
A) the chemical versatility of carbon atoms.
B) the variety of rare elements in organic molecules.
C) the fact that they can be synthesized only in living organisms.
D) their interaction with water.
E) their tremendously large sizes.
3) The experimental approach taken in current biological investigations presumes that
A) simple organic compounds can be synthesized in the laboratory from inorganic precursors, but
complex organic compounds like carbohydrates and proteins can only be synthesized by living
organisms.
B) a life force ultimately controls the activities of living organisms and this life force cannot be studied
by physical or chemical methods.
C) although a life force, or vitalism, exists in living organisms, this life force cannot be studied by
physical or chemical methods.
D) living organisms are composed of the same elements present in nonliving things, plus a few special
trace elements found only in living organisms or their products.
E) living organisms can be understood in terms of the same physical and chemical laws that can be used
to explain all natural phenomena.
4) Differences among organisms are caused by
A) large differences in elemental composition from organism to organism.
B) differences in the types and relative amounts of organic molecules synthesized by each organism.
C) differences in the elements that bond with carbon in each organism.
D) differences in the sizes of the organic molecules in each organism.
E) differences in inorganic compounds present in each organism.
5) Which of the following people was the first to synthesize an organic compound, urea, from inorganic
starting materials?
A) Stanley Miller
B) Jakob Berzelius
C) Friedrich Wohler
D) Hermann Kolbe
E) August Kekulé
6) Stanley Miller’s 1953 experiments proved that
A) life arose on Earth from simple inorganic molecules.
B) organic molecules can be synthesized abiotically under conditions that may have existed on early
Earth.
C) life arose on Earth from simple organic molecules, with energy from lightning and volcanoes.
D) the conditions on early Earth were conducive to the origin of life.
E) the conditions on early Earth were conducive to the abiotic synthesis of organic molecules.
7) Hermann Kolbe’s synthesis of an organic compound, acetic acid, from inorganic substances that had
been prepared directly from pure elements was a significant milestone for what reason?
A) It solved an industrial shortage of acetic acid.
B) It proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds.
C) It disproved the concept of vitalism.
D) It showed that life originated from simple inorganic chemicals.
E) It proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds and disproved the
concept of vitalism.
8) Stanley Miller’s 1953 experiments assumed that early Earth’s atmosphere contained
A) hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, hydrogen gas, and water vapor.
B) ammonia, methane, hydrogen gas, and water vapor.
C) ammonia, methane, oxygen gas, and water vapor.
D) amino acids, methane, hydrogen cyanide, and water vapor.
E) methane, formaldehyde, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
9) When Stanley Miller applied heat and electrical sparks to a mixture of simple inorganic compounds
such as methane, hydrogen gas, ammonia, and water vapor, what compounds were produced?
A) mostly amino acids
B) only simple organic compounds such as formaldehyde and cyanide
C) mostly hydrocarbons
D) only simple inorganic compounds
E) both simple organic compounds and more complex organic compounds such as amino acids and
hydrocarbons
10) How many electron pairs does carbon share in order to complete its valence shell?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 8
11) A carbon atom is most likely to form what kind of bond(s) with other atoms?
A) ionic
B) hydrogen
C) covalent
D) covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds
E) ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds
12) Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird?
A) They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants.
B) They were processed into sugars through photosynthesis.
C) They are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.
D) They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, and they are ultimately derived from
carbon dioxide.
E) They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, they were processed into sugars through
photosynthesis, and they are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.
13) Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird?
A) Inorganic carbon atoms in the seeds were incorporated into organic molecules by the bird.
B) The carbon atoms ultimately came from the soil.
C) The carbon atoms are ultimately derived from coal.
D) The carbon atoms ultimately came from carbon dioxide incorporated into sugars through
photosynthesis.
E) The carbon atoms ultimately came from simple organic compounds that formed abiotically from
inorganic carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms.
14) Why are hydrocarbons insoluble in water?
A) The majority of their bonds are polar covalent carbon-to–hydrogen linkages.
B) The majority of their bonds are nonpolar covalent carbon-to-hydrogen linkages.
C) They are hydrophilic.
D) They exhibit considerable molecular complexity and diversity.
E) They are lighter than water.
15) How many structural isomers are possible for a substance having the molecular formula C4H10?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 3
E) 11
16) Which of the following statements correctly describes cis-trans isomers?
A) They have variations in arrangement around a double bond.
B) They have an asymmetric carbon that makes them mirror images.
C) They have the same chemical properties.
D) They have different molecular formulas.
E) Their atoms and bonds are arranged in different sequences.
17) Research indicates that ibuprofen, a drug used to relieve inflammation and pain, is a mixture of two
enantiomers; that is, molecules that
A) have identical chemical formulas but differ in the branching of their carbon skeletons.
B) are mirror images of one another.
C) exist in either linear chain or ring forms.
D) differ in the location of their double bonds.
E) differ in the arrangement of atoms around their double bonds.
18) What determines whether a carbon atom’s covalent bonds to other atoms are in a tetrahedral
configuration or a planar configuration?
A) the presence or absence of bonds with oxygen atoms
B) the presence or absence of double bonds between the carbon atom and other atoms
C) the polarity of the covalent bonds between carbon and other atoms
D) the presence or absence of bonds with nitrogen atoms
E) the solvent that the organic molecule is dissolved in
19) Compared to a hydrocarbon chain where all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds, a
hydrocarbon chain with the same number of carbon atoms, but with one or more double bonds, will
A) be more flexible in structure.
B) be more constrained in structure.
C) be more polar.
D) have more hydrogen atoms.
E) have fewer structurally distinct isomers.
20) Organic molecules with only hydrogens and five carbon atoms can have different structures in all of
the following ways except
A) by branching of the carbon skeleton.
B) by varying the number of double bonds between carbon atoms.
C) by varying the position of double bonds between carbon atoms.
D) by forming a ring.
E) by forming enantiomers.
21) A compound contains hydroxyl groups as its predominant functional group. Which of the following
statements is true concerning this compound?
A) It lacks an asymmetric carbon, and it is probably a fat or lipid.
B) It should dissolve in water.
C) It should dissolve in a nonpolar solvent.
D) It won’t form hydrogen bonds with water.
E) It is hydrophobic.
22) Which of the following is a false statement concerning amino groups?
A) They are basic in pH.
B) They are found in amino acids.
C) They contain nitrogen.
D) They are nonpolar.
E) They are components of urea.
23) Which two functional groups are always found in amino acids?
A) ketone and methyl
B) carbonyl and amino
C) carboxyl and amino
D) amino and sulfhydryl
E) hydroxyl and carboxyl
24) Amino acids are acids because they always possess which functional group?
A) amino
B) carbonyl
C) carboxyl
D) phosphate
E) hydroxyl
25) A carbon skeleton is covalently bonded to both an amino group and a carboxyl group. When placed
in water it
A) would function only as an acid because of the carboxyl group.
B) would function only as a base because of the amino group.
C) would function as neither an acid nor a base.
D) would function as both an acid and a base.
E) is impossible to determine how it would function.
26) Which functional groups can act as acids?
A) amino and sulfhydryl
B) carbonyl and carboxyl
C) carboxyl and phosphate
D) hydroxyl and aldehyde
E) ketone and amino
27) Testosterone and estradiol are
A) soluble in water.
B) structural isomers of each other.
C) proteins.
D) lipids.
E) enantiomers of each other.
28) Testosterone and estradiol are male and female sex hormones, respectively, in many vertebrates. In
what way(s) do these molecules differ from each other?
A) Testosterone and estradiol are structural isomers but have the same molecular formula.
B) Testosterone and estradiol are cis-trans isomers but have the same molecular formula.
C) Testosterone and estradiol have different functional groups attached to the same carbon skeleton.
D) Testosterone and estradiol have distinctly different chemical structures, with one including four fused
rings of carbon atoms, while the other has three rings.
E) Testosterone and estradiol are enantiomers of the same organic molecule.
Art Questions
29) Which of the following people used this apparatus to study the formation of organic compounds?
A) Stanley Miller
B) Jakob Berzelius
C) Friedrich Wohler
D) Hermann Kolbe
E) August Kekulé
30) The two molecules shown in the figure above are best described as
A) optical isomers.
B) enantiomers.
C) structural isomers.
D) cis-trans isomers.
E) chain length isomers.
31) The figure above shows the structures of glucose and fructose. These two molecules differ in the
A) number of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
B) types of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
C) arrangement of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
D) number of oxygen atoms joined to carbon atoms by double covalent bonds.
E) number of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms; the types of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms;
and the arrangement of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
32) The figure above shows the structures of glucose and fructose. These two molecules are
A) geometric isotopes.
B) enantiomers.
C) cis-trans isomers.
D) structural isomers.
E) nonisotopic isomers.
33) The two molecules shown in the figure above are best described as
A) enantiomers.
B) radioactive isotopes.
C) structural isomers.
D) nonisotopic isomers.
E) cis-trans isomers.
34) Three or four of the following illustrations depict different structural isomers of the organic
compound with molecular formula C6H14. For clarity, only the carbon skeletons are shown; hydrogen
atoms that would be attached to the carbons have been omitted. Which one, if any, is NOT a structural
isomer of this compound?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E) Each of the illustrations in the other answer choices depicts a structural isomer of the compound with
molecular formula C6H14.
35) Which of the pairs of molecular structures shown below depict enantiomers (enantiomeric forms) of
the same molecule?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)