Carbon Atom NOTE: you can determine protons and electrons using

atomic number
Why is carbon atom the focus of organic chemistry?
Because all living organisms contain carbon. Carbon is
important because it is a key element in vital nutrients like
fats, carbohydrates, protein and nucleic acids. For this
reasons, all living things on Earth are also called
CARBON-BASED LIFE FORMS.
Special characteristic of carbon
Carbon atoms are unique because they can bond together
to form very long, durable chains that can have branches
or rings of various sizes and often contains thousands of
carbon atoms.

Valence electron- a valence electron is a electron in the

outer shell associated with an atom, and that can
participate in the formation of chemical bond.

IN FACT, THERE ARE NEARLY 10 MILLION

CARBON-BASED COMPOUNDS IN LIVING THINGS!
Carbon chain with four valence electrons, each carbon I
able to form four bonds
Carbon atoms can form straight chains, branched chains

Octet Rule- refers to the tendency of atoms to prefer to

have eight electrons in valence shell.

and rings.
GROUP=COLUMN
PERIOD=ROW
Electronegativity – a measure of the ability of an atom in
a chemical compound to attract electrons.
Note: electronegativity is not the same as electron affinity

Hybridization of carbons- the different types of

hybridization (sp3,sp2sp) in carbon determines the
structure and reactivity of carbon compounds that are
formed.
Note: The different y types of hybridization influence the
bond strength and structure of the molecules .