Question

Why does carbon form compounds by covalent bonding ?

Answer 1

The most common type of bond formed by carbon is a covalent bond. In most cases, carbon shares electrons with other atoms. This is because carbon has 4 valence electrons and so to complete its octet configuration, either it need to gain 4 more electron or loose 4 electron. It is not possible as it needs lot of energy to either loose or gain 4 electrons. Examples of covalent bonds formed by carbon include carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-hydrogen bonds.