Carbon and its Importance - Characteristics, Properties and Uses
Introduction to Carbon
One of the most important elements in life is carbon. Just like our life runs on oxygen, plants also need carbon for its functioning. Without carbon, it would have been extremely difficult to stay in this world. All the compounds that are mainly found in living things are called organic compounds. Hence Carbon is also regarded as an organic compound as it is a part of the living forms and is very important in carrying out life processes. Carbon has an atomic number 6 which means that it consists of 6 protons in the nucleus. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent in nature which means that it can make four bonds. To know more about Carbon and its Importance - Characteristics, Importance, Properties, and Uses, students can also refer to Vedantu where a lot of information is provided in a much more detailed view.
What is Carbon?
Carbon can be defined as a chemical element that is the most common, having the symbol C with atomic number 6. In the periodic table, this element is a member of group 14.
The name carbon has derived from the Latin word “carbo,” which is meant by coal. The crust of Earth is the 15th most abundant element and the 4th most abundant element after helium, hydrogen, and oxygen.
In this article, you will get to discuss more on the importance of the carbon element.
Carbon Element Explained
When Carbon atoms are bonded together in various forms, they are referred to as allotropes of carbon. A few of the best-known allotropes are graphite, amorphous carbon, and diamond. Graphite is one of the known substances for its softness, and diamond is known for its hardness. The physical properties of carbon may vary from the allotropic form.
For Example, Diamond is transparent, and Graphite is opaque. It bonds with the other small atoms, including other carbon atoms, and it can develop multiple stable covalent bonds.
Characteristics of Carbon
Carbon is Non-metallic, and it has a Tetravalent bond.
Naturally, it has 3 occurring isotopes( 12C, 13C - stable, and 14C - radioactive)
It also has various allotropes, and the best known can be given as diamond, amorphous carbon, and graphite.
It holds a high melting point and can combine easily with oxygen at elevated temperatures.
This element acts as an excellent hardener for iron and yields different steel alloys.
The radioactive isotope of carbon can be given as C-14, used to date the ancient objects of organic origin.
The chemical Reactivity of Carbon:
1. Carbon has high reactivity for a lot of smaller atoms and forms stable covalent bonds.
2. Carbon is weakly reactive even though it does react with a lot of atoms.
3. At standard temperature and pressure when carbon is available it tends to avoid oxidation and does not react with hydrochloric acid, chlorine, or any alkali metals.
4. Carbon tends to react with oxygen to provide carbon oxides and with metals to provide metal carbides at higher temperatures.
Importance of Carbon
Carbon is more important for every known living system, and life could not exist without this element.
It can be available in hydrocarbon form other than food and wood, such as methane gas, crude oil, and fossil fuel.
Carbon fibres contain multiple uses because they have the attributes as, yet lightweight, strong, and durable material.
These fibres can be used in making fishing rods, tennis rackets, even rockets, and airplanes. Industrial diamonds are used for cutting and drilling rocks.
Physical and Biological Role
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the carbon forms, an essential element present in the water and air to sustain life on earth. Photosynthesis through green plants collects their energy from the sun in order to break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The living organisms that cannot continue the photosynthesis process are bound to rely on other living organisms to consume their carbon dioxide molecules as the minimum requirements. Therefore, a balance of carbon and oxygen is essential for the survival of almost all living organisms on this entire planet.
Some Important Carbon Compounds
1. Saturated Carbon Compounds
Carbon compounds, satisfied by the single bond between them, are called saturated compounds. One of the examples of this is Ethane - C2H6
Here, the octet or duplet of both the atoms is fully completed only by a single bond.
2. Unsaturated Carbon Compounds
Atoms that are only satisfied either by double or triple bonds are called unsaturated carbon compounds. One of the examples of this is Ethene - C2H4, which is an unsaturated carbon compound, having a double bond.
Biological Importance of Carbon
Let us look at the importance of carbon compounds in biology because there is a need for carbon compounds.
Probably, carbon is the most important building block in almost all organic molecules (except for water) required for life. Compounds such as proteins, DNA, and fat all contain carbon.
A carbon molecule can make a huge compound array because the carbon atoms can form 4 bonds with several other elements such as nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, other carbon atoms, halogens, and even some metals too. These can further form into the simple amino acids, which are the building blocks of life, but they can also form into the long molecular chains that create compounds such as bones in our body or wood in trees.
Carbon is capable of forming bonds because the outer valence of a carbon molecule holds 4 electrons but needs 8 to be filled. Hence, it will share the remaining electrons with other atoms to fill its outer valence. There are very few stable elements similar to carbon that can readily react with as many elements as possible, making the carbon atom quite a good building block.
Uses of Carbon Compounds
Some common uses of carbon compounds are:
Carbon can be used as a decorative tool in jewelry pieces.
Fossil fuels such as crude oil, methane gas, diesel, petrol contain high carbon percentages.
It is used as a base for the ink to use in inkjet printers.
It can be used in automobile rims as a black fume pigment.
Uses of Carbon in the Human Body
Carbon acts as a macronutrient for the body in carbohydrate form. This is substantiated by the fact that each body part requires and contains large amounts of carbon.
Activated charcoal can be used in medicine to absorb multiple gases or toxins produced in the human body.
Carbon Uses in Everyday Life
Let us look at some uses of carbon compounds in everyday life.
Graphite can be used as the lead in pencils and is also used in steel production.
Amorphous carbon can be used in making paints and inks and in batteries.
FAQs on Carbon and Its Importance
1. Explain how carbon does affect the environment?
The water vapor percent present in the atmosphere, and the greenhouse effect scale are regulated by the carbon dioxide compound. Whereas, now, the increasing emissions of carbon dioxide are causing the earth to heat up more. Since the ocean soaks up the heat, this greenhouse warming does not happen instantly.
2. Explain the carbon cycle and its importance?
In the ecosystems, the carbon cycle is essential because it transfers carbon, which is considered a life-sustaining factor, through species from the oceans & atmosphere, and back to the oceans & atmosphere again. Currently, Scientists are researching ways where humans can use other substituent fuels containing non-carbon for electricity purposes.
3. How is carbon formed?
The carbon atomic nucleus formation occurs by the triple-alpha mechanism either within a giant or supergiant star. As per the latest theory of physical cosmology, carbon is created in the interior of stars in the horizontal branch. Since the big stars die like a supernova, carbon is dispersed in the ashes from space.
4. Explain the function of the carbon cycle?
Carbon shapes important molecules such as DNA and protein as a new life is created. Also, in our atmosphere, it is present in carbon dioxide, or CO2 form. The carbon cycle is how nature reuses the carbon atoms that migrate from the atmosphere into the species of Earth and back into the atmosphere over and over again then.
5. Is pure diamond a derivative of carbon?
Pure diamond is considered to be one of the hardest substances that occurs naturally. This diamond is also said to be a poor conductor of electricity. Diamond as a derivative of carbon is considered to be one of the most expensive and brilliant natural gemstones that are obtained. Pure diamond is also said to be one of the purest forms of carbon in nature. Diamonds also consist of sp covalent bonds that help one carbon to bond with another in the complex network structure. The tetrahedral symmetry has 4 carbons that are connected with each other and are repeated in three dimensions.
6. How does the production of elemental carbon take place?
It was until 1955 that all the diamonds that were obtained were from natural deposits. These were most frequently found in South Africa and it also occurs in Brazil, Venezuela, Siberia, and Guyana. The single known source that is present in the United States in the country of Arkansas has no commercial importance while the one that is available in India was also said to be fine diamonds, which is a significant supplier. The primary source of diamonds is a soft bluish rock which is a periodic rock called the kimberlite which was named after its discovery in Kimberly, South Africa.
7. What are the isotopes of carbon elements?
Carbon consists of two stable isotopes which are carbon- 12 and the other is carbon-13. Both of these carbon isotopes have different percentages of carbon present in them. While carbon-12 consists of 98.93% of pure carbon, carbon-13 will consist of about 1.07% of carbon in it. Out of all the isotopes, Carbon-13 is of particular interest as it is highly used in nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer calculations which is quite useful in elucidating structures of various molecules that are present in the environment. This isotope is also quite helpful in mass spectrometry for labeling the compounds.
8. How abundant is carbon in nature?
Carbon is not only found on earth but is also found on the sun and various other stars in the universe. This carbon that is present in outer space is formed out of the debris of a previous supernova. It is formed by nuclear fusion in bigger stars. It is present in the atmosphere of many planets in the form of carbon dioxide. It is seen that on earth the total concentration of carbon is about 390 ppm and is still rising. Graphite, a derivative of carbon, is also found in a lot of locations. Diamonds are found in the form of microscopic crystals in some meteorites.
9. Is it possible to extract energy from Carbon and how does Vedantu help explain these energy sources along with others?
While it is true that organic waste is considered to be useless for a lot of people, it still has many uses as green power. Various companies have also developed a technology that will be able to convert greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into fuel which will be done by using solar-powered thin-film devices. Doing this will help conserve fossil fuel which is in high demand however due to its usage is now going extinct. This means that a lower amount of pollution will be found in the environment due to greenhouse gases. Vedantu explains all about this energy and its uses in its Vedantu NCERT Solutions for Chemistry that will help students to understand the importance of all these energies in environments.
