Raheema Javed
Last Activity: 10 Years ago
An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon.
Carbon has four valence electrons 2s2 2p2 and it must either gain four electrons or lose four electrons to reach a rare-gas configuration. The electronegativity of carbon is too small for carbon to gain electrons from most elements to form C4- ions, and too large for carbon to lose electrons to form C4+ ions. Carbon therefore forms covalent bonds with a large number of other elements, including the hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur found in living systems.
Because they are relatively small, carbon atoms can come close enough together to form strong C=C double bonds or even C C triple bonds. Carbon also forms strong double and triple bonds to nitrogen and oxygen. It can even form double bonds to elements such as phosphorus or sulfur that do not form double bonds to themselves.
Several years ago, the unmanned Viking spacecraft carried out experiments designed to search for evidence of life on Mars. These experiments were based on the assumption that living systems contain carbon, and the absence of any evidence for carbon-based life on that planet was presumed to mean that no life existed. Several factors make carbon essential to life.
- The ease with which carbon atoms form bonds to other carbon atoms.
- The strength of C C single bonds and the covalent bonds carbon forms to other nonmetals, such as N, O, P, and S.
- The ability of carbon to form multiple bonds to other nonmetals, including C, N, O, P, and S atoms.