CARBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS

Class :- X
Subject :- Science
After studying this lesson, the student will be able
to:
 know the importance of carbon compounds.

 classify the organic compounds and name them

based on IUPAC rules.

 identify the functional groups of organic

compounds.
1) Occurrence of carbon :-
i) Carbon is found in the atmosphere, inside the earth’s crust and in
all living organisms.
ii) Carbon is present in fuels like wood, coal, charcoal, coke, petroleum,
natural gas, biogas, etc.
iii) Carbon is present in compounds like carbonates,
hydrogen carbonates etc.
iv) Carbon is found in the free state as diamond, graphite, fullerenes etc.
2) Bonding in carbon – Covalent bond :-
The atomic number of carbon is 6, its electronic arrangement is 2,4, it
has 4 valence electrons. It can attain stability by gaining 4 electrons,
losing 4 electrons or sharing 4 electrons with other atoms.
It does not gain 4 electrons because it is difficult for the 6 protons to
hold 10 electrons.
It does not lose 4 electrons because it needs a large amount of
energy to lose 4 electrons.
So it shares 4 electrons with other atoms to attain stability resulting in
the formation of covalent bonds.
Since carbon atom needs 4 electrons to attain stability, its valency is 4
and it is tetravalent.

X I
_ C
_
X C X

X
I
3) Formation of covalent bonds :-
Covalent bond is chemical bond formed by the sharing of electrons
between atoms.
The sharing of one pair of electrons results in the formation of single
covalent bond, sharing of two pairs of electrons results in the formation
of double covalent bond and sharing of three pairs of electrons results
in the formation of triple covalent bond.
Eg :- Formation of single covalent bond in Hydrogen
molecule - H2
The atomic number of hydrogen is 1, its electronic arrangement is 1, it
has 1 valence electron. It needs 1 electron more to attain stability. So
two hydrogen atoms share 1 pair of electrons resulting in the formation
of a single covalent bond in hydrogen molecule H 2.

Hx + x H H XX H H–H H2
Formation of double covalent bond in oxygen molecule - O2
The atomic number of oxygen is 8, its EC is 2,6, it has 6 VE, it needs 2
electrons more to attain stability. So two oxygen atoms share two
pairs of electrons resulting in the formation of a double covalent bond
in oxygen molecule O2
X X XX XX XX
X X XX
X X XX
XX XX XX XX
O + O O O O=O O2

Formation of triple covalent bond in Nitrogen molecule - N2

The atomic number of nitrogen is 7, its EC is 2,5, it has 5 VE, it needs
3 electrons more to attain stability. So two nitrogen atoms share three
pairs of electrons resulting in the formation of a triple covalent bond in
nitrogen
X
molecule
X
N2 X X
X X XX
X X XX
X X X XX
X X X

N + N N N NΞN N2
5) Formation of a very large number of carbon compounds :-
Carbon forms a very large number of compounds. The number of
carbon compounds is more than three million. It is more than the
number of compounds formed by all other elements. This is because :-
i) Carbon atom can form bonds with other carbon atoms to form long
chains, branched chains and closed rings. This property is called
catenation.
ii) Since the valency of carbon is 4, it can form bonds with other
carbon atoms or with atoms of other elements like hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, halogens etc.
I
_ C_
I I I I I I I I I I C
_ C–C–C–C–C–C_ _ C–C–C–C _ C C
I I I I I I I I I I C C
_ C _ C
I
Long chain Branched chain Closed ring
6) Hydrocarbons, Saturated and Unsaturated hydrocarbons :-
i) Hydrocarbons :- are compounds containing carbon and hydrogen
atoms.

ii) Saturated hydrocarbons :- are hydrocarbons having all single

covalent bonds between the carbon atoms.
Eg : Alkanes :- have all single covalent bonds between the carbon
atoms and their names end with – ane.

H
I
Methane – CH4 H–C–H
I
H

H H
I I
Ethane – C2H6 H–C–C–H
I I
H H
iii) Unsaturated hydrocarbons :- are hydrocarbons having a double or
triple covalent bond between two carbon atoms. Eg : Alkenes and
Alkynes.
Alkenes :- have a double covalent bond between two carbon atoms.
and their names end with – ene.
H H H H
I I I I
Ethene - C2H4 C=C Propene – C 3H6 H–C=C– C–H

I I I I
H H H H
Alkynes :- have a triple covalent bond between two carbon atoms
and their names end with – yne.

Ethyne – Ethyne – C2H2 H–CΞC–H

H
I
Propyne - C3H4 H–C ΞC–C–H
I
H
8) Functional groups :-
An atom or a group of atoms which decides the properties of a
carbon compound is called a functional group.
i) Halide ( Halo group) :- - Cl, - Br, etc. ( Names end with – ane )
Eg :- CH3Cl – Chloro methane, C2H5Br – Bromo ethane

ii) Alcohol :- - OH ( Names end with – ol )

Eg :- CH3OH – Methanol, C2H5OH – Ethanol

H
iii) Aldehyde :- - CHO -C ( Names end with – al )
O
Eg :- HCHO – Methanal, CH3CHO – Ethanal
O

II
iv) Carboxylic acid :- - COOH - C - OH (Names end with – oic
acid )
Eg :- HCOOH – Methanoic acid, CH3COOH – Ethanoic acid
v) Ketone :- - CO - C - (Names end with – one )
II
O
9) Homologus series :-
Homologus series is a group of carbon compounds having similar
structures, similar chemical properties and whose successive members
differ by a – CH2 group. Eg :- Alkanes, Alkenes, Alkynes etc.
Alkanes :- have general molecular formula CnH2n+2 . Their names end
with – ane and the members are as follows :-
Methane - CH4
Ethane - C2H6
Propane - C3H8
Butane - C4H10
Pentane - C5H12
H
I
Methane :– CH4 H – C – H
I
H

H H H H H
I I I I I
Ethane :– C2H6 H–C–C–H Propane – C3H8 H–C–C–C–H
I I I I I
H H H H H
Alkenes :-
Alkenes have general molecular formula CnH2n . Their names end
with – ene and the members are as follows :-
Ethene - C2H4
Propene - C3H6
Butene - C4H8
Pentene - C5H10

H H
I I
Ethene :- C2H4 C=C
I I
H H

H H H H H H H
I I I I I I I
Propene :- C3H6 H–C=C–C–H Butene :- C4H8 H – C = C – C – C – H
I I I
H H H
 Alkynes :-
Alkynes have general molecular formula CnH 2n – 2 .Their names end
with – yne and the members are as follows :-
Ethyne - C 2H2
Propyne - C 3H4
Butyne - C 4H6

Ethyne :- C2H2 H–C C–H

H
I
Propyne :- C3H4 H–C C–C–H
I
H
H H
I I
Butyne :- C4H6 H – C C–C–C–H