Contents
Key Stage 2
Meaning
Carbon is a chemical that makes diamonds and graphite.
Key Stage 3
Meaning
Carbon is a non-metal element with an atomic number of 6.
About Carbon
Molecular Structure
- Carbon has the chemical symbol C.
Atomic Structure
- Carbon has 6 protons and 6 neutrons in its nucleus giving it an atomic number of 6 and a atomic mass of 12.
- Carbon is in Period 2 of the Periodic Table because it has 2 electron shells.
Properties
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Carbon is a non-metal element, on the Periodic Table with 6 protons in the nucleus.
About Carbon
Molecular Structure
- Carbon has the chemical symbol C.
- Carbon forms covalent bonds with other Carbon atoms to produce a giant covalent structure.
- Carbon is able to make long chains of atoms to produce compounds called polymers.
There are several allotropes of Carbon including:
Examples
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| Diamond is a giant covalent structure where each Carbon atom has 4 bonds with adjacent atoms. | Graphite has a giant covalent structure with each Carbon atom has 3 bonds with adjacent atoms in a layer with loose bonds between the layers. | Graphene has a giant covalent structure where each Carbon atom has 3 bonds with adjacent atoms forming a layer that is one atom thick. | Fullerenes have a giant covalent structure where each Carbon atom has 3 bonds with adjacent atoms forming a sphere. |
Atomic Structure
- The most common isotope of carbon is Carbon-12 which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons in the nucleus.
- Carbon is in Period 2 of the Periodic Table because it has 2 electron shells.
- Carbon has 4 electrons in its outer shell so it can form 4 bonds with other atoms.
Properties
- Carbon is solid at room temperature.
- The different allotropes have different melting points and different electrical conductivity.