Concept explainers
To analyze:
The capacity of a carbon atom to form four covalent bonds.
Introduction:
An element is a pure substance of one type of atom or it is a species of an atom having the same number of protons in its atomic nucleus. For example, there are 118 known elements in the periodic table.
A compound is a combination of two or more different elements. In this case, bonds are formed by sharing electrons between two or more atoms (covalent bond) or by losing/ gaining electrons forming ionic bonds.
For example, in water () two hydrogen atoms are joined with one oxygen atom or share electrons. Table salt (), in which Na atom loses one electron and atom gains one electron and forms an ionic bond.
A molecule is the combination of two or more of the same element.
For example, H2 is the combination of two hydrogen atoms.
Octet rule: It is a rule which is followed when compound formation occurs. According to this rule, atoms of main-group elements tend to combine in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell, giving it the same electron configuration as a noble gas.
The electronic configuration is the arrangement of electrons according to the increasing energies of the orbitals.
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