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| 1. |
Boadimg in carban? |
| Answer» In case of carbon with atomic number 6 there are four electrons in its outermost shell due to which it is termed as tetravalent.\tIt gains or loses four electrons to attain the nearest noble gas configuration.\tCarbon has two possibilities to attain noble gas configuration.(i) One of the possibilities is to attain four electrons and form C4– anion. But it will be difficult for the nucleus to hold four more electrons firmly.(ii) Another possibility is to lose four electrons forming C4+ cation. But this will also be difficult due to the requirement of large energy to lose four electrons from the outermost shell. As a result the atom will contain six protons and two electrons.\tTherefore carbon shares its valence electrons present in its outermost shell with the electrons in the outermost shell of the combining atoms of other elements.\tDue to this sharing of four electrons of carbon with the electrons of other combining atoms, carbon is said to form covalent bonds. For example, carbon shares these electrons with four atoms of hydrogen.\tThe carbon-carbon bond is very strong and hence stable.\tCompounds possessing covalent bonds have strong bonds within the molecule, but intermolecular forces are small leading to low melting and boiling points of these compounds.\tDue to the sharing of electrons no charged particles are formed i.e. no ions are formed due to which covalent compounds are poor conductors of electricity.\xa0 | |