Carbon forms innumerable compounds why?
Answer:
Carbon exhibits remarkable properties, some paradoxical. Different forms include the hardest naturally occurring substance (diamond) and one of the softest substances (graphite) known. Moreover, it has a great affinity for bonding with other small atoms, including other carbon atoms, and is capable of forming multiple stable covalent bonds with such atoms.
Because of these properties, carbon is known to form nearly ten million different compounds, the large majority of all chemical compounds.
Carbon compounds form the basis of all life on Earth and the carbon-nitrogen cycle provides some of the energy produced by the Sun and other stars. Moreover, carbon has the highest melting/sublimation point of all elements. At atmospheric pressure it has no actual melting point as its triple point is at 10 MPa (100 bar) so it sublimates above 4000 K. Thus it remains solid at higher temperatures than the highest melting point metals like tungsten or rhenium, irrespective of its allotropic form...
Ability to form chemical bonds depends on the number of electrons in outer electron shell.
Carbon has 4 of a possible of 8 so is very reactive.
Helium, Neon argon and other "noble elements" have full outer shell so is very hard to make them bond with anything.
To clarify the an earlier answer. Carbon has 4 single electrons. This allows single electrons from other atoms to bond with it. And intially from any direction. Electrons like to be in pairs and carbon has 4 electrons to pair up. This is a very simple explaination without going into quantum mechanic. The second link is the more detailed scientific explaination
Carbon has four Valence electrons capable of chemical combination with other carbon atoms and non-metallic elements.
catenation
Tetra valency and high catenating ability of carbon is responsible for its ability to form such a large number of compounds. Ability of the atoms of the same element to form long chains and rings is called catenation. Ability of an element to form strong bonds is responsible for high catenation. Small atomic size makes carbon to form such strong bonds. Reasonably low energy (about 500kJ/mol) required to excite Carbon atom so that it contains 4 unpaired electrons in the valence level. Thus C undergoes any one of sp, sp2 or sp3 hybridisation to form such a large no. of compounds.
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