Class 10 Science


Carbon and Its Compounds Bonding In Carbon

These notes are based on the chapter Carbon and its Compounds from class 10 science of NCERT book and CBSE syllabus.

  • Organic compounds
  • Important features of carbon
  • Covalent bond

Organic Compounds

Compounds having carbon atoms among the components are known as carbon compounds. Previously, carbon compounds could only be obtained from a living source, hence they are also known as organic compounds. In this section, you will learn about bond formation in carbon and about covalent compounds.

Important Features of Carbon

  • Atomic Number: 6
  • Electronic Configuration: 2, 4
  • Valence Electrons: 4
  • Property: Non-metal

Abundance of Carbon

Carbon is the 4th most abundant substance in universe and 15th most abundant substance in the earth's crust.

Covalent Bond

Bond formed by sharing of electrons is called covalent bond. Two or more atoms share electrons in pairs to make their configuration stable. In this type of bond, all the atoms have similar rights over shared electrons. Compounds which are formed because of covalent bond are called covalent compounds.

Properties of Covalent Bond

  • Intermolecular force is smaller.
  • Covalent bonds are weaker than ionic bond. As a result, covalent compounds have low melting and boiling points.
  • Covalent compounds are poor conductor of electricity as no charged particles are formed in covalent bond.
  • Since, carbon compounds are formed by the formation of covalent bond, so carbon compounds generally have low melting and boiling points and are poor conductor of electricity.

Difference between covalent bond and ionic bond

  • Covalent bond is formed by sharing of electrons but ionic bond is formed by transfer of electrons.
  • Covalent bond is formed between two non-metals but ionic bond is formed between a metal and a non-metal.
  • Melting and boiling points of covalent compounds is low but melting and boiling points of ionic compounds is high.
  • Covalent compounds are generally insoluble in water but ionic compounds are soluble in water.
  • Covalent compounds exist in all three states (solid, liquid and gas) of matter but ionic compounds exist in solid state only.
  • Covalent compounds are bad conductors of electricity but ionic compounds are good conductors of electricity in aqueous solution.

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