Question

Why does carbon form compounds by covalent bonding ?

Answer 1

• Carbon has four electrons in its valence shell.
• To attain stability, i.e to attain noble gas configuration it should either gain 4 electrons or lose 4 electrons.

- It cannot lose 4 electrons as it involves a lot of energy.

- Also, it cannot gain 4 electrons because the nucleus cannot hold on to the four extra electrons added.
Therefore, to complete the octet, it shares 4 electrons with other atoms. That is why, carbon forms compounds mainly by covalent bonding.