Covalent Bonding in Carbon - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Chapter: Carbon and Its Compounds | Topic: Covalent Bonding in Carbon
COVALENT BONDING IN CARBON - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Topic: Covalent Bonding in Carbon
Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. Why does carbon form covalent bonds instead of ionic bonds?
- Carbon is a metal
- Carbon has 4 valence electrons — it's difficult to lose or gain 4 electrons
- Carbon has 8 valence electrons
- Carbon is highly electropositive
Q2. How many covalent bonds can a single carbon atom form?
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 6
Q3. In a methane molecule (CH₄), the carbon atom shares electrons with:
- 2 hydrogen atoms
- 4 hydrogen atoms
- 1 hydrogen atom
- 3 hydrogen atoms
Q4. A double covalent bond between two carbon atoms involves the sharing of:
- 1 pair of electrons
- 2 pairs of electrons
- 3 pairs of electrons
- 4 pairs of electrons
Q5. Which of the following is NOT a reason for carbon's ability to form a large number of compounds?
- Catenation
- Tetravalency
- Formation of ionic bonds
- Multiple bonding ability
Q6. The electron dot structure of ethene (C₂H₄) shows:
- A single bond between two carbon atoms
- A double bond between two carbon atoms
- A triple bond between two carbon atoms
- No bond between carbon atoms
Short Answer Questions
Q7. Define catenation. Why is carbon considered the most versatile element in terms of catenation?
Q8. Explain why carbon cannot form C⁴⁺ or C⁴⁻ ions easily, even though it has 4 valence electrons.
Q9. Draw the electron dot structure of a water molecule (H₂O) and explain why it is a covalent compound.
Q10. What is meant by tetravalency of carbon? How does this property help carbon form a variety of compounds?
Q11. Your pencil is made of graphite, which is pure carbon. Yet, the lead in your pencil is soft and slippery. Explain how the covalent bonding within each layer of graphite contributes to this property.
Q12. Compare a single covalent bond with a double covalent bond in terms of:
(a) Number of shared electron pairs
(b) Bond strength
(c) Bond length
Long Answer Questions
Q13. With the help of diagrams, explain the formation of the following molecules through covalent bonding:
(a) Methane (CH₄)
(b) Ethene (C₂H₄)
Also explain why all bonds in methane are identical in length and strength, while ethene has two different types of bonds.
Q14. Describe the three unique properties of carbon that make it the element with the largest number of compounds. Explain each property with a suitable example.
Q15. When your teacher burns a piece of charcoal (carbon) in the school lab, it glows red but does not melt. However, when you heat sugar (which contains carbon), it melts and turns black. Explain this difference in terms of the giant covalent structure of carbon and the molecular structure of sugar.
Numerical / Application-Based Problems
Q16. The atomic number of carbon is 6.
(a) Write the electronic configuration of carbon.
(b) How many electrons does carbon need to share to achieve a stable octet?
(c) If carbon forms a compound with chlorine (atomic number 17), draw the electron dot structure of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄).
Q17. A student is trying to understand why diamond is extremely hard while paraffin wax (also containing carbon) is soft.
(a) Explain the difference in bonding: diamond has a giant covalent structure, while paraffin wax has weak intermolecular forces.
(b) Calculate the total number of covalent bonds in one molecule of propane (C₃H₈).
Q18. In your chemistry practical class, you are given two unknown gases — Gas A and Gas B. Gas A has only single covalent bonds, while Gas B has a double covalent bond between carbon atoms. When burned, Gas B produces a more sooty flame.
(a) Which gas is likely to be saturated, and which is unsaturated?
(b) Predict the general formula for each gas.
(c) Which gas would decolorize bromine water? Explain why.