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<h2>Special properties of carbon</h2>
<p>Carbon has a <a data-lesson="atomic-and-atomic-mass-number" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="chemistry-essential-ideas" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/chemistry-essential-ideas/atomic-and-atomic-mass-number">number</a> of unique properties which influence how it behaves and how it bonds with other atoms:</p>
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<p>Carbon (see figure below) has <em>four valence electrons</em> which means that each carbon atom can form a maximum of four bonds with other atoms. Because of the number of bonds that carbon can form with other atoms, organic compounds can be very complex.</p>
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<p>Carbon can form bonds with other carbon atoms to form single, double or triple covalent bonds.</p>
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<p>Carbon can also form bonds with other atoms like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and the halogens.</p>
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<p>Carbon can bond to form straight chain, branched, and cyclic molecules.</p>
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</ul>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 565px"><img alt="06e1ad35a3e05f1be5bfc70698372516.png" height="105" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/b774f6af-12e6-4332-b011-e4e68e84b912" width="565"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Carbon (a) as seen on the periodic table and (b) a Lewis dot representation.</p></div>
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<p>Because of this, long <em>chain structures</em> can form. This is known as <strong>catenation</strong> - the <a data-lesson="electronegativity-and-bonding" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="bonding-atomic-combinations" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/bonding-atomic-combinations/electronegativity-and-bonding">bonding</a> of atoms of the same <a data-lesson="elements" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="classification-of-matter" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/classification-of-matter/elements">element</a> into longer chains. These chains can either be <em>unbranched</em> (see figure below) or <em>branched</em> (have a branched group, see the second figure below) and can contain single carbon-carbon bonds only, or double and triple carbon-carbon bonds as well.</p>
<p><img alt="f147a0fc35a2eed76dd5952916a9562e.png" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/41e52acf-a40b-4369-ad02-9adf0446caba"/></p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 329px"><img alt="bf37c71a75113c2f446dc9064b83a974.png" height="146" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/3d2c9044-000b-4f99-853c-38edbc423d19" width="329"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Unbranched carbon chains with (a) single carbon-carbon bonds, (b) single and double carbon-carbon bonds and (c) single and triple carbon-carbon bonds.</p></div>
<img alt="f3ac2f3d3f13c7858c8bdaefec4ba052.png" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/03a74bb2-ef18-4a1e-8acb-577caa7018aa"/>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 388px"><img alt="cdc687c191386d1d780027e8c00ebbbd.png" height="294" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/df1352c0-5ae9-4917-b0c1-ee8a55fe955e" width="388"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Branched carbon chains with (a) single carbon-carbon bonds, (b) single and double carbon-carbon bonds and (c) single and triple carbon-carbon bonds.</p></div>
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<p>Because of its position on the periodic table, most of the bonds that carbon forms with other atoms are <em>covalent</em>. Think for example of a \(\text{C}-\text{C}\) bond. The difference in electronegativity between the two atoms is zero, so this is a pure covalent bond. In the case of a \(\text{C}-\text{H}\) bond, the difference in electronegativity between carbon (\(\text{2.5}\)) and hydrogen (\(\text{2.2}\)) is so small that \(\text{C}-\text{H}\) bonds are almost purely covalent. The result of this is that most organic compounds are non-polar. This affects some of the properties of organic compounds.</p>
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</ul>
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<h3 class="title">Sources of carbon</h3>
<p>The main source of the carbon in organic compounds is <strong>carbon dioxide</strong> in the atmosphere. Plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and <a data-lesson="unique-properties-of-water" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="states-of-matter" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/states-of-matter/unique-properties-of-water">water</a> (inorganic compounds) into sugar (an organic compound) through the process of <strong>photosynthesis</strong>.</p>
<p>\(6\text{CO}_{2}(\text{g}) + 6\text{H}_{2}\text{O}(\text{l})\) \(\to\) \(\text{C}_{6}\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_{6}(\text{aq}) + 6\text{O}_{2}(\text{g})\)</p>
<p>Plants are therefore able to make their own organic compounds through photosynthesis, while animals feed on plants or plant products in <a data-lesson="bond-order" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="covalent-bonding-continued" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/covalent-bonding-continued/bond-order">order</a> to gain the organic compounds that they need to survive.</p>
<p>Other important sources of carbon are <strong>fossil fuels</strong> such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. This is because fossil fuels are themselves formed from the decaying remains of dead <a data-lesson="nitrogen-fixation" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="metals-metalloids-nonmetals" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/metals-metalloids-nonmetals/nitrogen-fixation">organisms</a> (refer to Grade 11 for more information on fossil fuels).</p>
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Special Properties of Carbon

Chemistry generally explores the substances of which matter is composed, the investigation of their properties and reactions, and the use of such reactions to form new substances. 

Chemistry

Learn about the special properties of carbon, functional groups, isomers, IUPAC naming, physical properties, and reactions of organic molecules, as well as the formation and impact of polymers in this tutorial.


Special Properties of Carbon

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