NEET BIOLOGY

CELL STRUCTURES AND FUNCTION

BIO MOLECULES

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What characteristic of Carbon (C) makes it essential to living organisms?
A
carbon forms crystal structures under certain conditions.
B
carbon can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas.
C
carbon bonds in many ways with itself to form chains.
D
carbon exists in radioactive forms.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Perhaps more important, however, is carbon’s capacity for covalent bonding. Because a C atom can form covalent bonds to as many as four other atoms, it’s well suited to form the basic skeleton, or “backbone, ” of a macromolecule.

Detailed explanation-2: -Why is carbon so basic to life? The reason is carbon’s ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including itself. This property allows carbon to form a huge variety of very large and complex molecules. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-based compounds in living things!

Detailed explanation-3: -A carbon atom has four valence electrons. This gives each carbon atom the opportunity to form four covalent bonds as a carbon atom strives to satisfy the octet rule. In addition to single covalent bonds, a carbon atom’s ability to form up to four covalent bonds allows for the formation of double or triple bonds.

Detailed explanation-4: -Characteristics of Carbon Carbon makes 4 electrons to form a covalent bond. It has a number of allotropes and other forms of existence.

Detailed explanation-5: -Carbon has a mid-range electronegativity, so it tends to form covalent bonds rather than ionizing. Carbon’s ability to form up to four covalent bonds means chains and rings of carbon can form.

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