Carbon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Carbon, ₆C

Graphite (left) and diamond (right), two allotropes of carbon
Carbon
Allotropes	graphite, diamond and more (see Allotropes of carbon)
Appearance	graphite: black diamond: clear
Standard atomic weight Ar, std(C)	[12.0096, 12.0116] conventional: 12.011
Carbon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson – ↑ C ↓ Si boron ← carbon → nitrogen
Atomic number (Z)	6
Group	group 14 (carbon group)
Period	period 2
Block	p
Electron configuration	[He] 2s2 2p2
Electrons per shell	2, 4
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Sublimation point	3915 K ​(3642 °C, ​6588 °F)
Density (near r.t.)	amorphous: 1.8–2.1 g/cm3 graphite: 2.267 g/cm3 diamond: 3.515 g/cm3
Triple point	4600 K, ​10,800 kPa
Heat of fusion	graphite: 117 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	graphite: 8.517 J/(mol·K) diamond: 6.155 J/(mol·K)
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	−4, −3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4 (a mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 2.55
Ionization energies	1st: 1086.5 kJ/mol 2nd: 2352.6 kJ/mol 3rd: 4620.5 kJ/mol (more)
Covalent radius	sp3: 77 pm sp2: 73 pm sp: 69 pm
Van der Waals radius	170 pm
Spectral lines of carbon
Other properties
Natural occurrence	primordial
Crystal structure	graphite: ​simple hexagonal (black)
Crystal structure	diamond: ​face-centered diamond-cubic (clear)
Speed of sound thin rod	diamond: 18,350 m/s (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion	diamond: 0.8 µm/(m⋅K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity	graphite: 119–165 W/(m⋅K) diamond: 900–2300 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity	graphite: 7.837 µΩ⋅m
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Molar magnetic susceptibility	−5.9·10−6 (graph.) cm3/mol
Young's modulus	diamond: 1050 GPa
Shear modulus	diamond: 478 GPa
Bulk modulus	diamond: 442 GPa
Poisson ratio	diamond: 0.1
Mohs hardness	graphite: 1–2 diamond: 10
CAS Number	7440-44-0
History
Discovery	Egyptians and Sumerians (3750 BCE)
Recognized as an element by	Antoine Lavoisier (1789)
Main isotopes of carbon
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 11C syn 20 min β+ 11B 12C 98.9% stable 13C 1.1% stable 14C trace 5730 y β− 14N

Carbon is a very important chemical element, with a chemical symbol of C. All known life on Earth needs it. Carbon has atomic mass 12 and atomic number 6. It is a nonmetal, meaning that it is not a metal.

When iron is alloyed with carbon, hard steel is formed. Carbon in the form of coal is an important fuel.

Chemistry of carbon

A whole type of Chemistry, organic chemistry, is about carbon and its compounds. Carbon makes many types of compounds. Hydrocarbons are molecules with carbon and hydrogen. Methane, Propane, and many other fuels are hydrocarbons. Many of the substances that people use daily are organic compounds.

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and some other elements like sulfur and phosphorus together form most life on earth (see List of biologically important elements). Carbon forms a very large number of organic compounds because it can form strong bonds with itself and with other elements. Because of the amounts of carbon living things have, all organic things are considered "carbon-based". Each carbon atom can form four single covalent bonds. These bonds allow carbon to form long chain-shaped molecules, called polymers, such as plastics.

Etymology

The name of carbon comes from Latin carbo, meaning charcoal. In many foreign languages the words for carbon, coal and charcoal are synonyms.

Types of carbon

Carbon in nature is found in three forms called allotropes: diamond, graphite, and fullerenes. Graphite, with clay, is in pencils. It is very soft. The carbon atoms in it make rings, which are on top of each other and slide very easily. Diamonds are the hardest natural mineral. Fullerenes are a "soccer ball" shape of carbon. They are mostly of interest to science. A special, man-made, tube-shaped allotrope of carbon is the carbon nanotube. Carbon nanotubes are very hard, so they might be used in armor. Nanotubes might be useful in nanotechnology.

There are 10 million known carbon compounds.

Some forms of carbon: a) diamond; b) graphite; c) lonsdaleite; d-f) fullerenes (C60, C540, C70); g) amorphous carbon; h) carbon nanotube.

Radiocarbon dating

A radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-14, can be used to figure out how old some objects are or when something died. As long as something is on the surface of the earth and taking in carbon, the amount of carbon-14 stays the same. When an object stops taking in carbon, the carbon-14 amount goes down. Because the half-life (how long it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to go away) of carbon-14 is 5730 years, scientists can see how old the object is by how much carbon-14 is left.

Where carbon is

Carbon is in many places in the universe. It was first made in old stars. Carbon is the fourth most common element in the sun. The atmospheres of Venus and Mars are mostly carbon dioxide.

Carbon is important to the human body and other living things, and it is the second most common element in the human body, at 23% of all body weight. It is also a key part of many biological molecules (molecules used in life).

Most of the carbon on Earth is coal. Graphite is in many (typically desert) areas, including Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Russia. Diamonds are rare and are found largely in Africa. Carbon is also in some meteorites.

Related pages

• List of common elements
• Carbon cycle

Images for kids

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  A large sample of glassy carbon

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  Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) surrounded by glowing carbon vapor

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  Graphite ore, shown with a penny for scale

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  Raw diamond crystal

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  "Present day" (1990s) sea surface dissolved inorganic carbon concentration (from the GLODAP climatology)

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  Correlation between the carbon cycle and formation of organic compounds. In plants, carbon dioxide formed by carbon fixation can join with water in photosynthesis (green) to form organic compounds, which can be used and further converted by both plants and animals.

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  This anthracene derivative contains a carbon atom with 5 formal electron pairs around it.

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  Antoine Lavoisier in his youth

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  Carl Wilhelm Scheele

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  Diamond output in 2005

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  Pencil leads for mechanical pencils are made of graphite (often mixed with a clay or synthetic binder).

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  Sticks of vine and compressed charcoal

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  A cloth of woven carbon fibres

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  Silicon carbide single crystal

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  The C₆₀ fullerene in crystalline form

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  Tungsten carbide endmills

See also

In Spanish: Carbono para niños