How does the structure of organic compounds relate to their function in the cell?
With almost any organic or biochemically important compound, structure dictates the function. For example, fatty acids have a polar head group (composed of an acyl group) and a nonpolar tail (a saturated/unsaturated hydrocarbon chain). This allows them to form lipid bi layer membranes. the structure of proteins is another example. The shape of the active site of hexokinase or glucokinase, for example, is dictated by its amino acid composition and thus structure. The structure of the active site determines what substrates hexokinase can successfully phosphorylate.