chapter 4 carbon and its compound dec 2015 | Page 3

TETRAVALENCY : Having a valency of 4, carbon atom is capable of bonding
with atoms of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, chlorine and other elements.
The smaller size of carbon atom enables nucles nucleus to hold the shared pair of
electrons strongly, thus carbon compounds are very stable in general.
Saturated and Unsaturated Carbon Compounds

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ALKANE : CnH2n+2

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ALKENE : CnH2n

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ALKYNE : CnH2n–2

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Electron dot structure of a saturated carbon compound, ethane is as follows:

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