I was taught in school that humans are about 90% water.
How come then, we are known as a carbon based life form? Carbon is not an essential for life in the way that oxygen and nitrogen are etc.
2006-06-06 01:53:43 · 8 answers · asked by Pip 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Several points can be made but two will suffice for now.
1. Carbon based does not only apply to humans but to every part of the biosphere (living part of the environment). Our whole ecosystem is based on carbon!
2. Carbon IS as essential to life as Oxygen. What is the gas we give off when we exhale? CARBON dioxide! We must take in carbon to passit out.
Our bodies "burn" sugars to get the energy our bodies neen to run. Guess what the main element in sugar is? Yes, you're right! CARBON! Carbon is in every cell of our bobies.
2006-06-06 01:56:19 · answer #1 · answered by jemhasb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are only two serious candidates that can form the wide variety of molecules with other elements that are necessary for cells and therefore for life. They are carbon and silicon (below Carbon in the Periodic Table and therefore with similar properties to it.) Because they both have a valency of four (can make four bonds with other atoms),
However Carbon, the 6th most abundant element throughout the Universe is ten times more common than Silicon (mainly because everything is formed from nuclear fusion of hydrogen and elements with higher atomic weight are formed in smaller quantities as a result),
The earth is relatively rich in silicon but despite that, carbon-based life-forms were the ones that formed here.
2006-06-06 02:42:51 · answer #2 · answered by brucebirchall 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are called carbon based as our cells are based around complex carbon structures.
Although carbon is not as important as Oxygen for life, and eating raw carbon isn't exactly brilliant, we do need carbon. Everything we eat is pretty much based around carbon - sugar is based around carbon, proteins are based around carbon, fat is based around carbon, in fact all life on Earth is carbon based.
So carbon is essential for life, and arguably more essential that nitrogen (nitrogen does appear in protein, however).
2006-06-06 01:59:20 · answer #3 · answered by Mudkips 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No we are not 90% water it's more like 60% I guess.
Human body is mostly composed of proteins.All proteins have carbon and infact their chemistry is hugely influenced due to presence of carbon.All other things like nucleic acids ,cell walls energy sources like glucose all of them contain carbon.So you can say Humans and infact most of the life is Carbon based.
2006-06-06 01:58:51 · answer #4 · answered by santosh k 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Exactly, we are about 70 percent of water. But the surface of the earth is 70% of water too. What makes us different and makes us human is the rest 30%. It consists of carbon-based subtances, as you must have known, the most important and common part of which is -CH-
2006-06-06 02:04:04 · answer #5 · answered by bla_bla_bla 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Carbon IS essential for life.... whilst most of the bodies cells contail water, those cells are MADE of carbon(and oxygen and nitrigen)
2006-06-06 01:55:49 · answer #6 · answered by Mr_Moonlight 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are called carbon based as our cells are based around complex carbon structures.all life as we know it is also carbon based
2006-06-06 02:03:53 · answer #7 · answered by The Wanderer 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like star trekys for the purpose of intertainment. look up the definatin you might find there is no link except for carbon apears in nature. So which is a link of such but by percntage is small
2006-06-06 02:00:34 · answer #8 · answered by Jack lee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋