/ Preparation Chemistry Carbon and its CompoundsThe tetravalency of carbon is its ability to form bonds with other atoms by sharing its valence electrons. A carbon atom forms four covalent bonds hence carbon is said to be tetravalent, where tetra means ‘four.’
Carbon is an element that is found in abundance in nature. It is useful to human beings in both elemental and combined form. All living beings are made up of some form of carbon. Despite its rarity, which is about 0.03% in the atmosphere and 0.02% in the earth’s crust, carbon is of immense importance to human beings.
Carbon can share its valence electrons with not only another carbon but also with atoms of other elements. For example, hydrogen is one of the simplest molecules formed by sharing valence electrons.
The above illustration shows how a single covalent bond between two hydrogen atoms, i.e, two hydrogen atoms, combine to form a molecule of hydrogen, H2.
The tetravalency of carbon is displayed in the way methane, a compound of carbon is formed. Since carbon has four valence electrons, it pairs with four atoms of hydrogen to form methane - a noble gas.
Electron dot structure for a compound of carbon called methane
The tetravalency of carbon allows it to form precious and useful compounds such as diamond and graphite. The valency of four facilitates it to form bonds with four other atoms. Because of this characteristic, carbon can form compounds with oxygen, hydrogen, sulphur, chlorine, and many other elements. The unique feature about the bonds that carbon forms is that they are extremely strong making the resulting compound highly stable. The small size of carbon enables its nucleus to stick to the shared pairs of electrons firmly.
The tetravalency of carbon enables it to bond with other elements to form different types of compounds. Thus, tetravalency is the reason why carbon is considered a versatile element.
Tetravalency of Carbon in Class 10
You will learn about the tetravalency of carbon in chapter 4 of your textbook. You will also learn about carbon compounds, functional groups, and the importance and uses of carbon to human beings.
Weightage of marks in class 10 board exams
Tetravalency of carbon is a topic from Chapter 4 - Carbon and its Compounds. Chapter 4 is a part of Unit I - Chemical Substances - Nature and Behaviour. This entire Unit I is assigned 26 marks. Please refer to the chart below.
You can expect objective questions or short or long-form questions from this topic.
Illustrated Examples
- What is the electron dot structure of carbon dioxide with the formula CO2?
- What would be the electron dot structure of ethane?
- What is the structure of cyclohexane, both carbon skeleton, and complete molecule?
- FAQs on Carbon Tetravalency
FAQs on Carbon Tetravalency
Q. Who discovered tetravalency of carbon?
Q. Where is carbon naturally found?
Q. Why is the valency of carbon 4?
Q. What are allotropes of carbon?
Q. What is carbon catenation?
Chemistry Carbon and its Compounds Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Popular Courses After 12th
Exams accepted
CA FoundationExams accepted
ICSI ExamExams accepted
BHU UET | GLAET | GD Goenka TestBachelor of Business Administration & Bachelor of Law
Exams accepted
CLAT | LSAT India | AIBEExams accepted
IPMAT | NMIMS - NPAT | SET
Exams accepted
BHU UET | KUK Entrance Exam | JMI Entrance ExamBachelor of Design in Animation (BDes)
Exams accepted
UCEED | NIFT Entrance Exam | NID Entrance ExamBA LLB (Bachelor of Arts + Bachelor of Laws)
Exams accepted
CLAT | AILET | LSAT IndiaBachelor of Journalism & Mass Communication (BJMC)
Exams accepted
LUACMAT | SRMHCAT | GD Goenka Test