What Are The Physical And Chemical Properties Of Carbon?

Physical Properties of Carbon:

• Carbon is a unique element. It occurs in many forms. Some examples of the pure form of carbon are coal and soot.
• It is soft and dull grey or black in colour.
• One of the most important compounds of carbon is charcoal, which is formed when carbon is heated in the absence of air.
• It occurs in a number of allotropic forms. Allotropes are nothing but forms of an element with varying physical as well as chemical properties.
• The density of the different forms of carbon depends upon the origin of these elements. You will find some forms of carbon which are pure and some forms which are not pure like coal which is the mixture of both carbon and hydrogen.

Chemical Properties of Carbon

• Carbon compounds generally show 4 reactions, they are
  • • Combustion reaction
    • Oxidation reaction,
    • Addition reactions
    • Substitution reaction.
• As we all know that carbon in all forms needs oxygen, heat, and light and forms carbon dioxide. When it is burned in the air to give carbon dioxide, it is called as combustion.
• Let us get the concept of this using some examples when it is burnt in the air: When methane CH₄ is burnt in the presence of oxygen it gives us carbon dioxide, heat, and light.

Carbon compounds in fuels like diesel

This is because when carbon or diesel is burnt in the air, it produces a large amount of heat energy.

Combustion is of two types:

• Complete Combustion
• Incomplete Combustion

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Understanding Carbon

We all have seen cooking gas burning at home, they burn blue. Have you ever thought why it appears blue? The answer is that when a saturated hydrocarbon is burnt in the presence of oxygen then it gives a blue colour flame and this is because here fuel is burnt completely. In other words, you can understand it by knowing that the percentage of carbon present in saturated hydrocarbons is low and it gets easily oxidised. To know more about carbon visit us at BYJU’S.