Question

(a) Why does carbon generally forms covalent compounds.

(b) Also state reasons to explain why covalent compounds:
(i) are bad conductors of electricity?
(ii) have low melting and boiling points?

(c) Name an allotrope of carbon that is a good conductor of electricity.

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Answer 1

Answer:

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Explanation:

(a) Carbon being tetravalent, is neither capable of losing all of its four valance electrons nor it can easily accept four electrons to complete its octet because both of these conditions are energetically less favourable. Therefore carbon atom prefers to complete its octet by sharing of electrons and hence forms covalently bonded compounds.

(b) (i) Covalent compounds are bad conductors of electricity because they are formed by sharing of electrons. So they don't have any free electron that is required for carrying electricity. Thus they are bad conductors of electricity.

(ii) CovaLent compounds are formed by the sharing of electrons, hence the intermolecular forces are relatively weaker than the electrostatic forces existing between the ionic compounds that are formed by the transferring of electrons. Due to the weak intermolecular forces, less energy is needed to break the covalent bonds hence they have low melting and boiling points

(c) Structure of graphite accounts for it being a good conductor of electricity. In its structure each carbon atom is directly attached to three carbon atoms through covalent bonds. Therefore, out of the four valence electrons in a carbon atom, only three are used for bonding and the fourth electron remains free and can move from one carbon atom to the other. These free electrons make graphite a good conductor of electricity.

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Answer 2

Answer:

(a) Atomic number of carbon is six. This means that it has four electrons in its outermost shell and it needs four more electrons to attain noble gas electronic configuration. It does not form C4+ cation, as the removal of four valence electrons will require a huge amount of energy. The cation formed will have six protons and two electrons. This makes it highly unstable. Carbon is unable to form C4− anion as its nucleus with six protons will not be able to hold ten electrons. Thus, carbon achieves noble gas electronic configuration by sharing its four electrons with other elements, i.e. it forms covalent compounds.

(b)

(i) Covalent compounds are bad conductors of electricity due to lack of free electrons.

(ii) Covalent compounds are formed by covalent bonds and it has been found that the intermolecular forces of attraction in covalent compounds are weak. Thus, their melting and boiling points are quite low.

(c)Structure of graphite accounts for it being a good conductor of electricity. In its structure each carbon atom is directly attached to three carbon atoms through covalent bonds. Therefore, out of the four valence electrons in a carbon atom, only three are used for bonding and the fourth electron remains free and can move from one carbon atom to the other. These free electrons make graphite a good conductor of electricity

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