Class 10 Science Chapter 4: Carbon and its Compounds

Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook “Science”.

Chapter at a glance

Carbon is a special element that forms strong covalent bonds and long chains with itself (catenation). In this part you will learn why carbon is tetravalent, how single, double and triple bonds form, and why carbon forms a huge variety of compounds. We use simple molecular examples (methane, ethane, ethene, ethyne) to see bonding and structure. These ideas explain later topics such as hydrocarbons, functional groups and polymers.

What you will learn: You will learn tetravalency, covalent bonding in carbon, catenation and the difference between single, double and triple bonds with simple examples.

Why it matters: Understanding bonding explains why carbon compounds are stable, why many organic molecules exist, and how different bonds change chemical properties.

Key concepts

Tetravalency of carbon — Carbon usually makes four covalent bonds by sharing four electrons.
Covalent bonds: single, double, triple — Single, double and triple bonds share one, two, and three pairs of electrons respectively.
Catenation — Catenation is the ability of carbon atoms to join together to form chains.

What the chapter covers

Try at Home — A safe, simple activity to visualise carbon's bonding idea.
Why Questions — Short reasoning questions and clear answers.

Remember for the exam

Carbon atoms share electrons (covalent bonds), not transfer them.
Count bonds to check correctness of drawn structures.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Saying carbon transfers electrons to become stable (ionic bonding). Better: Carbon achieves stability by sharing electrons to form covalent bonds.
Mistake: Drawing more than four bonds on a carbon atom in Lewis structures. Better: Ensure each carbon has exactly four bonds in the final structure.
Mistake: Confusing catenation with polymerisation. Better: Use 'catenation' for element property and 'polymerisation' for the process that forms polymers.

These notes are a study aid. Check important facts against your textbook.

Study this chapter

A clear study guide that explains the chapter step by step
Quick revision for the day before a test
Practice quizzes that show which ideas need more work
An AI tutor to ask questions about “Carbon and its Compounds”

Start learning free