Tetracovalency of Covalent Compounds

Compounds like urea, sugars, oils, fats, dyes, proteins, vitamins which were isolated directly or indirectly from living organisms, such as animals and plants were called organic compounds.

The branch of chemistry which deal with the study of these compounds was called organic chemistry.

Compounds like common salt, marble , alums, vitriols which were isolated from non-living sources such as rocks and minerals were called inorganic compounds.

The branch of chemistry which deal with the study of these compounds was called inorganic chemistry.

Organic chemistry is also defined as the chemistry of carbon compounds containing usually hydrogen and one or more additional elements like oxygen ,nitrogen ,sulphur ,halogens ,Phosphorus.

Inorganic chemistry is defined as the chemistry of all elements other than carbon and their compounds.

Electronic configuration of carbon is 2,4.

Carbon has 4 electrons in the valence shell and thus needs 4 more electrons to complete its octet. Therefore carbon is tetravalent.

It is energetically very difficult for carbon to either gain or lose 4 electrons to achieve the nearest inert gas configuration. Carbon always combined with other atoms by mutual sharing of electrons and thus forms covalent bond.

Since all the organic compounds contain carbon as the essential elements, therefore ,the nature of chemical bonding in organic compounds is always covalent.

Carbon is always tetracovalent i.e. it forms four covalent bonds with other atoms.

The four bonds of a carbon atom are directed towards the four corners of a regular tetrahedron i.e. the angle between any two adjacent bond is 109°28’