Physical And Chemical Properties Of Carbon | Chemistry

Physical Properties of Carbon

  • Carbon is a unique element. It occurs in many forms. Some examples of the pure form of carbon are coal and soot.
  • It is soft and dull grey or black in colour.
  • One of the most important compounds of carbon is charcoal, which is formed when carbon is heated in the absence of air.
  • It occurs in a number of allotropic forms. Allotropes are nothing but forms of an element with varying physical as well as chemical properties.
  • The density of the different forms of carbon depends upon the origin of these elements. You will find some forms of carbon which are pure and some forms which are not pure like coal which is the mixture of both carbon and hydrogen.

Chemical Properties of Carbon

  • Carbon compounds generally show 4 reactions, they are
    • Combustion reaction
    • Oxidation reaction,
    • Addition reactions
    • Substitution reaction.
  • As we all know that carbon in all forms needs oxygen, heat, and light and forms carbon dioxide. When it is burned in the air to give carbon dioxide, it is called as combustion.
  • Let us get the concept of this using some examples when it is burnt in the air: When methane CH4 is burnt in the presence of oxygen it gives us carbon dioxide, heat, and light.
This is because when carbon or diesel is burnt in the air, it produces a large amount of heat energy.

Carbon compounds in fuels like diesel

This is because when carbon or diesel is burnt in the air, it produces a large amount of heat energy.

Combustion is of two types:

  • Complete Combustion
  • Incomplete Combustion

Understanding Carbon

We all have seen cooking gas burning at home, they burn blue. Have you ever thought why it appears blue? The answer is that when a saturated hydrocarbon is burnt in the presence of oxygen then it gives a blue colour flame and this is because here fuel is burnt completely. In other words, you can understand it by knowing that the percentage of carbon present in saturated hydrocarbons is low and it gets easily oxidised.

Er. Neeraj K.Anand is a freelance mentor and writer who specializes in Engineering & Science subjects. Neeraj Anand received a B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from N.I.T Warangal & M.Tech Post Graduation from IETE, New Delhi. He has over 30 years of teaching experience and serves as the Head of Department of ANAND CLASSES. He concentrated all his energy and experiences in academics and subsequently grew up as one of the best mentors in the country for students aspiring for success in competitive examinations. In parallel, he started a Technical Publication "ANAND TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS" in 2002 and Educational Newspaper "NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS" in 2014 at Jalandhar. Now he is a Director of leading publication "ANAND TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS", "ANAND CLASSES" and "NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS". He has published more than hundred books in the field of Physics, Mathematics, Computers and Information Technology. Besides this he has written many books to help students prepare for IIT-JEE and AIPMT entrance exams. He is an executive member of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers. USA) and honorary member of many Indian scientific societies such as Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers, Aeronautical Society of India, Bioinformatics Institute of India, Institution of Engineers. He has got award from American Biographical Institute Board of International Research in the year 2005.