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Why is carbon is considered tetravalent?

Answer 1

Carbon is tetravalent because it can bond with a maximum of four hydrogen atoms.

The valence of an element is the maximum number of hydrogen or chlorine atoms that can combine with an atom of the element.

Carbon is in Group 14 of the Periodic Table, so a carbon atom has four valence electrons.

It can also bond with four atoms of chlorine.

The prefix tetra- means four, so carbon is tetravalent.

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Answer 2

Serenity Allen

Carbon is considered tetravalent because it has four valence electrons in its outermost electron shell, allowing it to form four covalent bonds with other atoms. This is due to its electron configuration, with two electrons in the 2s orbital and two in the 2p orbital, which can hybridize to form four sp³ hybrid orbitals, each containing one electron.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

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