CARBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS

Carbon is the most important element to life. Without this element, life as we know it would not exist. As you will see, carbon is the central element in compounds necessary for life. Carbon is most important element because it forms largest number of compounds which are useful in our daily life.

Living things need carbon in order to live, grow, and reproduce. Carbon is a finite resource that cycles through the earth in many forms.

This makes carbon available to living organisms and remains in balance with other chemical reactions in the atmosphere and in bodies of water like ponds

and oceans. Carbon is an important constituent of living beings. Along with Nitrogen and oxygen, carbon is one of the essential building blocks of organic life. Carbon forms about 18% of the human body. Carbon is integral because of its unique ability to form four different bonds with other elements.

Carbon is exchanged, or "cycled" among Earth's oceans, atmosphere, ecosystem, and geosphere. All living organisms are built of carbon compounds. It is the fundamental building block of life and an important component of many chemical processes. Carbon. Its atomic number is 6. Its mass number is 12.0. Its atomic mass is 12.011. Its melting point is 3550°C and boiling point is 4830 °C .It occurs in free state as well as in combined state. 18% of our body is made up of carbon. It forms largest number of compounds. The earth crust contains only 0.02% of carbon. Carbon belongs to the group IV of the periodic table.