Carbon

Question 1 What is the atomic number of carbon?

Question 2 What is the mass number of carbon?

Question 3 What is the electronic configuration 0f carbon?

Question 4 Why carbon cannot lose 4 electrons?

Question 5 Why carbon cannot gain 4 electrons?

Question 6 Why is carbon atom tetravalent in nature?

Question 7 Why carbon forms covalent compounds?

Carbon

Carbon has atomic number 6 and atomic mass 12.

Its electronic configuration is 2,4 .Since it has 4 valence electrons, it is tetravalent in nature.

The earth has 0.02% by mass only.

Carbon dioxide gas is 0.03 % by volume of air.

Bonding in Carbon Compounds

Electronic configuration of carbon is 2,4.It has 4 electrons in its outermost shell and it can lose or gain four electrons to attain noble gas configuration.

1) It could not be gain 4 electrons from some other atom and become C^4-

In this case the energy required is expected to be very high in order to overcome the repulsion in the electrons already present in the carbon atom and the electrons which it has to accept.

or

It would be difficult for the nucleus with 6 electrons to hold on 10 electrons i.e.  4 extra electrons.

2) It could not be lose 4 electrons present in the valence shell to some atom and become  C⁴⁺

Since 4 electrons are to be lost, the energy needed for the purpose is going to be very high and not easily available. Therefore carbon atom shares its valence electrons with other atoms of carbon or with atoms of some element forming a Covalent Bond.