CHAPTER – 4
CARBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS
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Carbon is a versatile element.
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In earth’s crust, carbon is 0.02% and found in form of minerals.
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Atmosphere has 0.03% of Carbon dioxide.
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All living structures are carbon based.
Covalent Bond in Carbon
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The atomic number of carbon is 6 and its electronic configuration is 2, 4. To
attain a noble gas configuration it can
1.
Gain 4 electrons. But it would be difficult for nucleus to hold 4 extra electrons.
2.
Lose 4 electrons. But it would require a large amount of energy to remove
4 electrons.
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It is difficult thus for an atom of carbon to either gain or lose electrons.
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Carbon attains the noble gas configuration by sharing its valence electrons
with other atoms. Atoms of other elements like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
chlorine also show sharing of valence electrons.
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Formation of H2, O2 and N2 is shown as below :
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