What is a tetravalent carbon atom?

Being tetravalent means being able to form four covalent bonds. Carbon is tetravalent, because it needs four more electrons to fill its valence shell. By forming four covalent bonds, carbon gets credit for four additional shared electrons, and this stabilizes the atom.

Why carbon is tetravalent hybridization?

Ans: The reason behind the tetravalent nature of the carbon atom is that it readily shares its four valence electrons with other atoms. Instead of gaining or losing electrons, it attains stability by sharing electrons. As it shares four electrons, Carbon is said to exhibit tetravalency.

Is C always tetravalent?

As in all its compounds and its elemental forms, carbon is tetravalent, which means that it always forms four bonds. We will now consider in greater detail why this is so, what forms the bonds can take, and what are the consequences of this fact.

Does carbon have tetravalent property?

Carbon obeys the octet rule and forms 4 covalent bonds with other atoms to get a stable electronic configuration. Thus, carbon is tetravalent (It means the valency of carbon is 4.) and can form 4 covalent bonds with not only other atoms but other carbon atoms as well. This is called tetravalency of carbon.

What’s the meaning of trivalent?

Definition of trivalent 1 : having a chemical valence of three. 2 : conferring immunity to three different pathogenic strains or species a trivalent influenza vaccine.

Why carbon is tetravalent instead of divalent?

Carbon has 6 electrons. In the first shell only 2 electrons can be accommodated. So now we are left with 4 electrons, which are accommodated in the second shell, which is the outermost shell of carbon atom. Since the outermost shell of carbon atom consists of 4 electrons, Carbon is tetravalent.

Which of the following element is tetravalent?

Carbon has the highest ability to bind with a variety of other elements and is tetravalent. Hence the correct answer is (A) i.e Carbon.

What is tetravalent bond?

Tetravalent: An atom having four covalent bonds. In this molecule the hydrogen atom and chlorine atoms are monovalent, the oxygen atom is divalent, the nitrogen atom is trivalent, and the carbon atom is tetravalent.

What are tetravalent elements?

A tetravalent element is an elemental atom with four electrons available to form bonds with other atoms. Good examples are carbon and silicon; their tetravalance allows them to form highly complex molecules, hence the complexity of life and computers.

What is a trivalent carbon?

Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry – Trivalent. Trivalent: An atom having three covalent bonds. In this molecule the hydrogen atom and chlorine atoms are monovalent, the oxygen atom is divalent, the nitrogen atom is trivalent, and the carbon atom is tetravalent.

What are the trivalent element?

An atom, ion, or elements with a valence of three, is called trivalent. Examples for trivalent atoms are Nitrogen, Aluminium, Phosphorous, etc.

What is tetravalent bonding?

What is the tetravalency of carbon atom?

And the property of the carbon atom to form 4 covalent bonds with other atoms is known as the tetravalency of the Carbon atom. ‘Tetra’ stands for 4. Hybridization is the concept of mixing up atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals, which are generally of lower energy and suitable for the pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds.

Why is carbon called tetravalent?

The valency of carbon is 4 and it is, therefore, said to be tetravalent. The branch of organic chemistry deals with the compounds of carbon. Carbon has a valency of 4 and is just one element in the list of over a hundred elements in the periodic table.

What is the atomic mass of a carbon atom?

Atomic Mass of Carbon. Atomic mass of Carbon is 12.0107 u. The atomic mass is the mass of an atom. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass refers to the mass of a single particle, and therefore is tied to a certain specific isotope of an element.

Is carbon a covalent bond?

Carbon (from Latin: carbo “coal”) is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent —making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table.