How does carbon form into so many different compounds and combination?
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interesting answer above.\n\nCarbon has 4 valance electrons which because of the relatively small size of the atom can move about and create all sorts of hybrid orbitals and molecular bonding orbitals allowing it to suit the bonding needs of many other atoms, thus making many varied combinations.\n\nIt is also in the middle range of electronegitivities therefore resisting in most situations becoming an ion.
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becoz carbon have very special property\nthe speciality of carbon is its 4 valency electrons,,,, which can be form its octet to achieve stablity by loosing, gaining the 4 electrons,,,,,, or it will share electrons to form octet \n\neven carbon shows catenation property i.e. carbon have tendency to form long chains relating to other atoms which is existing in periodic table\n\ncarbon is basic element for life which is existing on earth
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Carbon can combine with most elments very easily and it makes the strongest bonds.
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These chemicals have one thing in common, carbon atoms. Carbon atoms link in chains, like C-C-C. Carbon atoms "like" to have 4 bonds with other atoms. In each of the chemicals you named, the carbons are all single or double-bonded to other carbons; the other bonds are with hydrogen atoms.\n\nThese are the simplest "organic chemicals". It used to be thought that "organic" chemicals were produced by living things. Now they're known to be produced in outer space as well. So there are many possible "origins" for these molecules in that sense.\n\nMethane molecules have only one carbon atom; octane has 8. So you might say that all of these molecules have their origin in carbon atoms sharing bonds with other carbons.
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One question at a time please!\n\nCarbon forms Covalent bonds.\n\n1 molecule of Carbon can form 4 bonds.\n\nLipids are formed from Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen and consist of fatty acids, and esters, and glycerols.\n\nOkay, Organic vs. Inorganic Here are some of the most educated opinions on that subject that I have ever encountered:\n\n Ask A Scientist\nChemistry Archive  \n\nhttp://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem99/chem99286.htm\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOrganic / Inorganic\n\nQuestion:\nI teach sophomores an introductory biology course.  When I cover the biochemistry section the terms organic and inorganic come up.\nI am not satisfied with the simplistic statement that organic chemicals are ones that contain carbon since it does not account for carbon dioxide being an inorganic. Is there a definition of 'organic chemical' which accounts for all\nor most molecules?\n doug happ\n \nAnswer 1:\n   Given the existence of hemoglobin, "zinc fingers" in some enzymes, and buckyballs, I'd guess not.\n christopher grayce\n\nAnswer 2:\nConsidering the number of carbon containing molecules that ARE considered to be organic relative to the number that are NOT, the rule that an organic molecule is one that contains carbon,  works VERY well. The "exceptions" might serve as a lead-in to a discussion of the use of rules, such as classifying molecules as organic or inorganic, as a contrived convenience.  They are helpful for most cases.  In the cases\nwhere the rules don't work well we have to be able to turn to other tools, such as an understanding of chemical bonds or molecular orbitals so we can concentrate on the characteristic of interest -- which is very rarely\nwhether the molecule is organic or more often things like reactivity. You're at the leading edge of helping these students think for themselves\nin a field where they probably feel unsure of themselves! It sounds like you have some inquiring students there and some active\ndiscussions.  May you have many more!\nGreg\n\nAnswer 3:  An interesting question.\nI believe that "organic" vs. "inorganic" originally stemmed from the ancient idea that compounds could be divided into two categories; those isolated from plants and animals (organic) and those extracted from minerals and ore (inorganic)\n[source: Bodner and Pardue, Chemistry: An Experimental Science, 1993].\n \nAs a working definition, now we think of organic chemistry as primarily being the chemistry of carbon-containing compounds. Most carbon-containing compounds have one or more of the\nfollowing: H,N,O,S,P. Some authors describe organic chemistry as the study of compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen. By this definition, CO2 would be "inorganic." But I would\nlike to stress that in fact there is no general agreement on such semantics, and I'd bet that a lot of chemists consider CO2 to be "organic" because it contains C and O.\nTopper
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Keywords:\n              Help\n\nCarbon has a unique place in our lives. Each living cell, food, wood, paper, petro-chemicals, cooking gas, perfumes, etc are all made up of carbon. Chemistry of carbon compounds is known as organic chemistry. Organic chemistry encompasses study of all carbon-hydrogen compounds. These are also called hydrocarbons. Inorganic carbon chemistry is the study of oxides, nitrides and allotropes of carbon.\n\nThere are many differences between organic and inorganic compounds. Organic compounds are mostly insoluble in water. They have low melting points and exist by forming covalent bonds. Inorganic compounds on the other hand usually dissolve in water and have high melting points. Inorganic compounds can be formed due to either ionic or covalent bonds. Another characteristic of organic compounds is that they are inflammable.\n\nCarbon has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons. Its chemical symbol is 12C 6. Its electronic configuration is 2 electrons in the K-shell, and 4 electrons in the L-shell. In principle it should either give up or borrow 4 electrons while forming compounds. But it doesn’t form ionic bonds at all. It likes to share its four electrons with other atoms and form covalent bonds instead. Carbon covalent bonds are the strongest in nature.\nWe might expect that a carbon atom to form three bonds of one kind using the p orbital electrons and one bond of another kind using the s orbital electron. But this does not happen!! The one 2s and three 2p orbitals mix together and give rise to four new altogether different types of orbitals. This is called  hybridization and is seen only in carbon atom. The four orbitals are at an angle of 109028’. This is called tetrahedral or sp3 (pronounced as sp three) type of hybridization. There are sp2 and sp types of hybridization also.
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Probably carbon latice structures, like buckeyballs or nanotubes.  These could then contain the smaller compounds that are doing the desired work.
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Carbon is a remarkable element for many reasons. Its different forms include one of the softest (graphite) and one of the hardest (diamond) substances known. Moreover, it has a great affinity for bonding with other small atoms, including other carbon atoms, and its small size makes it capable of forming multiple bonds. 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, regardless of its allotropic form.\n\nCarbon was not created in the Big Bang due to the fact that it needs a triple collision of alpha particles (helium nuclei) to be produced. The universe initially expanded and cooled too fast for that to be possible. It is produced, however, in the interior of stars in the horizontal branch, where stars transform a helium core into carbon by means of the triple-alpha process. It was also created in a multi atomic state
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Carbon has made forms and can be used for several things.\n\nDiamond - Gemstone quality are cut and placed in jewelery, Industrial diamonds are used in tools like diamond tipped saws and drill bits designed to cut into heavy materials like stone or metal.\n\nWater Filters - Carbon can combine with many other elements which is why it is used to remove a number of impurities from drinking water and small aquariums.\n\nElectronics - Carbon is commonly used in electronic components (such as resistors) found in TVs, Radios, Computers, Playstations, etc.\n\nFeul & Energy - In the form of coal it is widely used in the boliers of electrical power plants to generate energy. In developing countries it is used as a more efficient means over wood for heating the home and cooking. In China the coal that is mined is pressed into round stackable bricks that are alloted to the people without electricity every month so they can cook food and heat their homes.\n\nGraphite - The "Pencil Lead" for wooden and mechanical pencils. A dry lubricant commonly used on small mechanical devices like locks and hobby motors of miniature vehicles.\n\nDrinks - By mixing with oxygen in the form of Carbon Dioxide it allows for the bubbles in soda.\n\nFood - In the form of baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) it creates gas bubble that make cookies and cakes light and airy.\n\nSteel - The strong and common alloy is made by adding carbon to iron.\n\nSimple Calories - Carbon in one of the key elements in the sugars and starches that make up the carbohydrades in food. The subtances are typically plant-based in origin and are the easiest to breakdown into energy.\n\nNano Tubes - An experimental "artificial muscle" consisting of strong microscopic carbon structures that can flex and contract with electrical current.\n\nAerospace Engineering - New aircraft and spacecraft hulls are made of overlapping layers of woven carbon fiber material and heated resins. The combined layers are stronger and lighter than the traditional aluminum panals that make up older aircraft and space craft skins.
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People useally know that Carbon exist in forms of graphite and diamond. graphite and diamond are the two naturally occuring forms of carbon.  However back in 1985, Robert Curl, Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley, were able to create third allotrope of carbon, Buckminsterfullerenes also known as Buckyball using Using laser evaporation of graphite!  The structure of C60 is a truncated icosahedron, which resembles a round soccer ball of the type made of hexagons and pentagons, with a carbon atom at the corners of each hexagon and a bond along each edge.\n\nSince its invention/discovery, much research has been done to create more allotropes of carbon.  The nano technology you hear today has its roots in discovery and concepts of buckyball.
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carbon. because it can bond with more elements than any other, including itself.\n\nhence life is made out of it.\n\nit is extremely hard (diamond) and can be extremely soft (graphite). \n\nit doesnt have a melting point.
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Because of its valence shell carbon atoms always have 4 bonds. In addition to this carbon atoms are unique in thier ability to form strong covalent bonds to each other while at the same time bonding atoms of other nonmetals strongly.
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first of all carbon is not an organic compound it is an element. and different compounds made from carbon are included in class of organic compounds.\n\ncarbon has got atomic number 6. so its electronic configuration will be 1s2,2s2,2p2. so it contains 4 electrons in its outermost orbit, we know that there should be 8 electrons to complete the octet and make the element stable, so carbon can either gain 4 electrons or lose 4 electrons to become stable, but both requires very high amount of energy.\n\nso it goes for sharing of electrons. it has the special property of catenation, ie carbon-carbon long chain formation. no other element has such property, so carbon itself has forms such high number of compounds which not even formed by rest all elements together. so it has been given special branch of chemistry called organic chemistry while rest all elements are included in inorganic chemistry. so its versatile
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It is grabbed from the CO2 in the air.  Protosynthesis involves combining carbon dioxyde from the air with water to produce sugars and release oxygen.
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Excess of CO2 along with water forms carbonic acid. the reaction goes this way.\n\nCO2+H2O-H2CO3
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Mendeleev's work in developing a periodic table showed that similarities among elements appeared with a certain regularity. As chemists developed ways to learn about the structure of atoms, it became apparent that this regularity could be explained on the basis of the arrangement of the electrons in atoms, especially the number of electrons most distant from the nucleus.\n\nThe arrangement of electrons helps explain the formation of different kinds of chemical bonds. Some bonds result from the donation of one or more electrons from one atom to another atom in the compound.Bonds of this type are called ionic, and compounds with bonds of this type are called ionic compounds. The component parts of ionic compounds are called ions. For example, sodium chloride is an ionic compound formed when electrons from sodium atoms move to chlorine atoms.The sodium atom is converted into a sodium ion with a positive charge.The chlorine atom is converted into a chloride ion with a negative charge.\n\nCovalent bonds are formed when electrons from two or more atoms are shared. Compounds formed in this way are called covalent compounds. Carbon tetrachloride is an example of a covalent compound. Four chlorine atoms surround a carbon atom. Each chlorine atom shares one of its electrons with the carbon; and, conversely, the carbon atom shares its electrons with the chlorine atoms.\n\nIn metals, the atoms are closely packed together in rows and layers. These rows and layers explain why metals are easy to bend. The loosely-bound outer electrons in metal are shared among many atoms, creating a ìseaî of negative charges holding the metal ions in place. This is called metallic bonding. The type of bonding, whether ionic, covalent, or metallic, determines the properties and the ways in which we use substances!\n\nChemical reactions occur when the atoms are taken apart or rearranged. Energy is conserved in such reactions;that is, the energy of the reactants is equal to the energy of the products.\n\nChemical reactions proceed at different rates. Some, such as the rusting of iron, proceed slowly. Others, such as the burning of methane gas, proceed rapidly. Temperature, surface area, air pressure, and the presence of moisture or catalysts are all conditions that affect the rates of chemical reactions. Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of a reaction but are not changed themselves when the reactions are complete.\n\nHuman understanding of these principles of chemistry has enabled us to make hundreds of thousands of useful products, which enhance our lives greatly.
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carbon is tetravalent (ie it is able to form bonds with 4 other atoms. It therefore can form backbones of more complex structures (see diamond and graphite). It is also found abundantly on earth.