Carbon a member of group 14 forms a large no. of carbon compounds estimated to be about three million. Why is this property not exhibited by other elements of this group? Explain
Carbon(C) is the first element of group 14 and it has smaller nuclei which enable it to hold tightly a shared pair of electrons.
Carbon has some specific features which enable it to form such a large amount of compounds and a long chain.
The special properties of carbon: The special properties of carbon are as follows-
Valency of carbon- 2, 4
Accepting 4 electrons or losing 4 electrons are very high energy required processes that are not possible for any atom so carbon shares its 4 electrons to form a covalent bond and that is one of the reasons for the high level of carbon compounds.
For example, Soap() etc.
That is all the reason why carbon has such a large no. of carbon compounds.