The importance of carbon

The importance of carbon for living organisms

Carbon is included in the composition of more than 10 million compounds that make up the bodies of living organisms. Carbon is an essential element in the composition of organic compounds. All organic compounds are limited to four main groups as follows:[1]

1.      Carbohydrates: Their importance for living organisms is to provide them with the necessary energy, store energy, and form the various structures of the body.

2.     Lipids: Fats are an important part of energy storage in living organisms, forming cell membranes, and transmitting messages throughout the body.

3.     Proteins: The importance of proteins is to help cells maintain their shape, build muscle, and speed up chemical reactions.

4.     Nucleic acids: they are the important part in the bodies of living organisms; They are responsible for transmitting genetic traits from parents to offspring, and they also contribute to building proteins.

The importance of carbon for organic compounds

Valency The atoms of the elements seek to achieve stability during the formation of chemical compounds, by losing or gaining electrons, so that the number of electrons in the outer shell of the element becomes 8, so the elements seek to form chemical or covalent bonds, and the importance of covalent bonds lies in the atom sharing electrons with at least one atom, Which allows it to reach a more stable state, and since carbon contains four electrons in its outer shell, it is able to gain or lose electrons, and it can form four covalent bonds at the same time, and the organic compound CH4 is an example of this. Carbon is able to form strong bonds with itself; Diamond and graphite are composed entirely of carbon atoms, in addition to the ability of carbon to form bonds with other carbon atoms among other compounds.[2]

The formation of a large number of molecules

When a carbon atom shares one electron with another carbon in a covalent bond, it means that there are 6 electrons available to bond with other elements; That is, it is possible to form 6 different compounds, and if a third carbon atom forms a covalent bond with one of these electrons, this means an additional number of potential compounds, and scientists have so far been able to count more than 10 million different carbon compounds.[2]

Graphite

One of the most important known forms of the elemental carbon is diamond and graphite. Both are made up of crystals, but they differ in physical properties. Graphite has a number of important everyday uses. Graphite is used as a lubricant, a black dye, an absorbent in chemical reactions, a fuel, and a filler for rubber. It is also used to make lead in pencils. Due to its good conductivity, it is used for electrodes in electric furnaces, dry cells, and for making crucibles that are melted. Metals inside.[3]

Reference

1.      "Significance of Carbon", www.ck12.org, Retrieved 24-5-2019. Edited.

2.     Chris Deziel (26-4-2018), "Why Is Carbon So Important to Organic Compounds?"، www.sciencing.com, Retrieved 24-5-2019. Edited.

3.     "Carbon", www.britannica.com,10-5-2019، Retrieved 24-5-2019. Edited.