Chemistry · Chapter 08
🛢️ Carbon Compounds
The chemistry of life.
💡 The Element of Life
Every living thing — plants, animals, you — is built around carbon. Why? Because carbon can form 4 bonds, link with itself, and build endless chains and rings.
Some important carbon compounds:
• Methane (CH₄) — natural gas. The simplest organic molecule.
• Glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) — the sugar your body burns for energy.
• Ethanol (C₂H₅OH) — alcohol in beverages, fuel.
• DNA — your genetic code, made of carbon-based molecules.
Allotropes of pure carbon: graphite (soft, in pencils), diamond (hardest natural substance), and graphene (super-conductive sheets).
Methane (CH₄) — simplest hydrocarbon, first in alkane seriesWikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Diamond and graphite — allotropes of carbonWikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
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Carbon's Four Hands
AnimationMethane (CH₄) — one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogens. The basic shape of life chemistry.
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Famous Carbon Compounds
ExperimentPick a compound — see its formula and where you find it.
FormulaCH₄
Found inNatural gas
Methane is the main component of natural gas burned in stoves. Also produced by cows and rice fields.