UDGAM SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN

Std. X– Science (2024-25)

Ch- 4: Carbon and its compounds Notes

Name: _________________________ Std / Sec: ____ Roll No. _____ Date___________

Versatile nature of carbon
Carbon forms a large number of chemical compounds, more than any other element. The
nature of its covalent bond and its small size enables it to form bonds with other atoms
easily-
(i) Catenation property- Carbon has the unique ability to form bonds with other atoms of
carbon to form large molecules. This property of carbon is called catenation. Carbon
atoms get linked by single, double or triple covalent bonds. The compounds of carbon
have long chains of carbon atoms, branched chains or rings of carbon atoms. The carbon-
carbon bonding is very strong and stable.
(ii) Tetravalency- Carbon has a valency of four. Hence, it can bond with four other atoms
of monovalent elements. The bonds thus formed are strong and stable.
(iii) Small size- Due to the small size of carbon atom, its nucleus can hold the shared pair
of electrons strongly. This makes the bonds formed by carbon strong and stable.

Types of carbon compounds

Compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen are called hydrocarbons. Carbon
compounds can be classified broadly as –
(i) Open chain carbon compounds and (ii) Closed chain (cyclic) carbon compounds

(i) Open chain carbon compounds- They are divided into two groups-
(a) Saturated carbon compounds- The carbon compounds having only single covalent
bonds are called Saturated carbon compounds. Eg- Alkanes
(b) Unsaturated carbon compounds- The carbon compounds having double or triple
covalent bonds are called unsaturated carbon compounds. Eg- Alkenes and alkynes

Saturated carbon compounds (Alkanes) General formula- CnH 2n+2

No. of C atoms Name Molecular Condensed formula
formula
1 Methane CH4 -
2 Ethane C2H6 CH3CH3
3 Propane C3H8 CH3CH2CH3
4 Butane C4H10 CH3(CH2)2CH3
5 Pentane C5H12 CH3(CH2)3CH3
6 Hexane C6H14 CH3(CH2)4CH3

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Unsaturated carbon compounds
(i)Alkenes- Unsaturated carbon compounds having at least one double bond.
General formula- CnH 2n
No. of C atoms Name Molecular Condensed formula Structure
formula

2 Ethene C2H4 CH2=CH2

3 Propene C3H6 CH3CH=CH2

4 Butene C4H8 CH3CH2CH=CH2

5 Pentene C5H10 CH3CH2CH2CH=CH2

6 Hexene C6H12 CH3(CH2)3CH=CH2

(ii)Alkynes- Unsaturated carbon compounds having at least one triple bond.

General formula- CnH 2n-2
No. of C Name Molecular Condensed formula Structure
atoms formula

2 Ethyne C2H2 CH≡CH

3 Propyne C3H4 CH≡CCH3

4 Butyne C4H6 CH≡CCH2CH3

5 Pentyne C5H8 CH≡CCH2CH2CH3

6 Hexyne C6H10 CH≡CCH2CH2CH2CH3

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Cyclic carbon compounds- carbon compounds having closed ring structure

Structural isomers- carbon compounds having the same molecular formula but different
structural formula are called structural isomers.
Eg 1 butane

eg 2 pentane

Functional groups
In a hydrocarbon chain, one or more hydrogen atoms may get replaced by an atom of
another element or a group of atoms, conferring specific properties to the carbon
compound. These atoms are known as heteroatoms or functional groups. Eg- alcohol,
ketone, aldehyde etc.

Nomenclature of carbon compounds having functional groups

Halo alkanes General formula- CnH 2n+1X

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 No. of C atoms Name Molecular
formula

1 Chloromethane CH3 Cl
2 Chloroethane C2H5 Cl
3 Chloropropane C3H7 Cl
4 Chlorobutane C4H9 Cl

Alcohol -OH General formula- CnH 2n+1 OH

Aldehyde -CHO General formula- CnH 2n O

No. of C atoms Name Molecular Structure
formula

1 METHANAL HCHO

2 ETHANAL CH3CHO

3 PROPANAL C2H5CHO

Ketone -CHO General formula- CnH 2n O

No. of C Name Molecular formula Structure
atoms

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 3 PROPANONE CH3COCH3

4 BUTANONE CH3CH2COCH3

5 PENTANONE CH3CH2CH2COCH3

Carboxylic acid -COOH General formula- CnH 2n O2

No. of C Name Molecular formula Structure
atoms

1 METHANOIC ACID HCOOH

2 ETHANOIC ACID CH3COOH

3 PROPANOIC ACID CH3CH2COOH

Chemical properties of carbon compounds-

(i) combustion – All allotropes of carbon as well as most of the carbon compounds burn
in oxygen to form carbon dioxide, releasing a large amount of heat and light.
(i) C + O2 → CO2 + heat and light
(ii) CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O + heat and light
(iii) CH3CH2OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O + heat and light

(ii) Oxidation- Carbon compounds can be easily oxidised on combustion. some

substances can add oxygen to others. These substances are known as oxidising agents.
Eg1- Alcohols are converted to carboxylic acids.

Here, Alkaline potassium permanganate (or acidified potassium dichromate) are oxidising
alcohols to acids, that is, adding oxygen to the starting material. Hence, they are known as
oxidising agents.

(iii) Addition reaction- Unsaturated hydrocarbons add hydrogen in the presence of

catalysts such as palladium or nickel to give saturated hydrocarbons. Catalysts are
substances that cause a reaction to occur or proceed at a different rate without the
reaction itself being affected.

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Eg-

(iv) Substitution reaction- Saturated hydrocarbons are unreactive and are inert in the
presence of most reagents. However, in the presence of sunlight, chlorine is added to
hydrocarbons in a very fast reaction. It is called a substitution reaction because one type of
atom or a group of atoms takes the place of another.
Eg- CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl (in the presence of sunlight)
Ethanol -

Physical properties- Ethanol is a liquid at room temperature. It is a good solvent. It is

highly soluble in water.
Chemical properties-
(i) Reaction with sodium- Ethanol reacts with sodium to form sodium ethoxide, leading to
the evolution of hydrogen gas.
2Na + 2CH3CH2OH → 2CH3CH2O–Na+ + H2
(Sodium ethoxide)

(ii) Reaction to give unsaturated hydrocarbon: Heating ethanol at 443 K with excess
concentrated sulphuric acid results in the dehydration of ethanol to give ethene. The
concentrated sulphuric acid can be regarded as a dehydrating agent which removes water
from ethanol.

Ethanoic acid

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Physical properties- It is a colourless liquid. It is soluble in water and other organic
solvents. 5-8% solution of acetic acid in water is called vinegar which is used as
preservative in pickles. It often freezes at low temperatures. This gave rise to its name
glacial acetic acid.
Chemical properties-
(i) Esterification reaction: Ethanoic acid reacts with absolute ethanol in the presence of
an acid catalyst to give an ester named ethyl ethanoate. Esters are most formed by
reaction of an acid and an alcohol.

On treating with sodium hydroxide, which is an alkali, the ester is converted back to
alcohol and sodium salt of carboxylic acid. This reaction is known as saponification
because it is used in the preparation of soap.

(ii)Reaction with a base: Ethanoic acid reacts with a base such as sodium hydroxide to
give a salt (sodium ethanoate or commonly called sodium acetate) and water.

(iii)Reaction with carbonates and hydrogen carbonates: Ethanoic acid reacts with
carbonates and hydrogen carbonates to give rise to a salt, carbon dioxide and water. The
salt produced is commonly called sodium acetate.

Differences between soaps and detergents

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Page Number: 61
1. What would be the electron dot structure of carbon dioxide which has the formula
CO2?

2. What would be electron dot structure of sulphur which is made up of eight atoms
of sulphur.

Page Number: 68 – 69
1. How many structural isomers can you draw for pentane?
Three, these are n-pentane, iso-pentane and neo-pentane.

2. What are the two properties of carbon which lead to the huge number of carbon
compounds we see around us?
(i) Tetravalency (ii) Catenation (For explanation, refer notes)

3. What will be the formula and electron dot structure of cyclopentane?

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The molecular formula of cyclopentane is C5 H10 .

4. Draw the structures for the following compounds:

(i) Ethanoic acid (ii) Bromopentane (iii) Butanone (iv) Hexanal
(i) Ethanoic acid (CH3COOH)

(ii) Bromopentane (C5H11Br)

(iii) Butanone (CH3 — CH2 — COCH3)

(iv) Hexanal (C5H11CHO)

There are three structural isomers for bromopentane depending on the position of Br at
carbon 1, 2, 3.

Positions 4 and 5 are same as 1, 2.

5. How would you name the following compounds?

Answer:
(i) Bromoethane (ii) Methanal (iii) Hexyne

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 Page Number: 71
1.Why is the conversion of ethanol to ethanoic acid an oxidation reaction?
Conversion of ethanol into ethanoic acid is an oxidation reaction because addition of
oxygen to a substance is called oxidation. Here, oxygen is added to ethanol by oxidising
agent like alkaline potassium permanganate or acidified potassium dichromate and it is
converted into acid.

2. A mixture of oxygen and ethyne is burnt for welding. Can you tell why a mixture
of ethyne, and air is not used?
A mixture of ethyne and air is not used for welding because burning of ethyne in air
produces a sooty flame due to incomplete combustion, which is not enough to melt metals
for welding.

Page Number: 74
1.How would you distinguish experimentally between an alcohol and a carboxylic
acid?
Differences between alcohol and carboxylic acid
Test Alcohol Carboxylic acid

(i) Litmus test No change in colour. Blue litmus solution turns red.

CH3COOH + NaHCO3 →
C2H5OH + NaHCO3 → No
(ii) Sodium hydrogen CH3COONa + H2O + CO2 Brisk
reaction No brisk
carbonate test effervescence due to evolution of
effervescence.
CO2.

(iii) Alkaline potassium On heating, pink colour

Does not happen so.
permanganate disappears.

2. What are oxidising agents?

Oxidising agents are the substances which give oxygen to another substance, or which
remove hydrogen from a substance.
For example, acidic K2Cr2O7 is an oxidising agent, that converts (oxidises) ethanol into
ethanoic acid.

Page Number: 76
1. Would you be able to check if water is hard by using a detergent?
No, because detergents can lather well even in hard water. They do not form insoluble
calcium or magnesium salts (scum). On reacting with the calcium ions and magnesium
ions present in the hard water.

2. People use a variety of methods to wash clothes. Usually after adding the soap,
they ‘beat’ the clothes on a stone, or beat it with a paddle, scrub with a brush or the
mixture is agitated in a washing machine. Why is agitation necessary to get clean
clothes?
It is necessary to agitate to get clean clothes because the soap micelles which entrap oily
or greasy particles on the surface of dirty cloth have to be removed from its surface. When
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the cloth wetted in soap solution is agitated or beaten, the micelles containing oily or
greasy dirt get removed from the surface of dirty cloth and go into water and the dirty cloth
gets cleaned.

Chapter End Questions

1. Ethane, with the molecular formula C2H6 has
(a) 6 covalent bonds (b) 7 covalent bonds (c) 8 covalent bonds (d) 9 covalent bonds
Answer:
(b) 7 covalent bonds.

2. Butanone is a four-carbon compound with the functional group

(a) carboxylic acid (b) aldehyde (c) ketone (d) alcohol
Answer:
(c) Ketone.

3. While cooking, if the bottom of the vessel is getting blackened on the outside, it means
(a) the food is not cooked completely. (b) the fuel is not burning completely.
(c) the fuel is wet. (d) the fuel is burning completely.
Answer:
(b) The fuel is not burning completely.

4. Explain the nature of the covalent bond using the bond formation in CH3Cl.
Covalent bond is formed by sharing of electrons so that the combining atoms complete
their outermost shell.
In CH3Cl : C = 6, H = 1 and Cl = 17 And their electronic configuration is C – 2,4, H – 1 and
Cl – 2, 8, 7

Three hydrogen atoms complete their shells by sharing three electrons (one electron each)
of carbon atom. Chlorine completes its outer shell by sharing its one out of seven electrons
with one electron of carbon atom. Thus, carbon atom shares all its four electrons with
three hydrogen atoms and one of chlorine atom and completes its outermost shell and
single covalent bonds are formed in CH3Cl.

5. Draw the electron dot structures for

(a) ethanoic acid (b) propanone (c) H2S (d) F2.
Answer:

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 6. What is a homologous series? Explain with an example.
Homologous series: A homologous series is a group of organic compounds having
similar structures and similar chemical properties in which the successive compounds
differ by -CH2 group.
Characteristics of homologous series:
(i) All members of a homologous series can be represented by the same general formula.
For example, the general formula of the homologous series of alkanes is C nH2n+2, in which
‘n’ denotes number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in one molecule of alkane.
(ii) Any two adjacent homologues differ by one carbon atom and two hydrogen atoms in
their molecular formulae.
(iii) The difference in the molecular masses of any two adjacent homologues is 14u.
(iv) All the compounds of a homologous series show similar chemical properties.
(v) The members of a homologous series show a gradual change in their physical
properties with increase in molecular mass.
For example, general formula of the homologous series of alkanes is CnH2n+2, in which ‘n’
denotes number of carbon atoms in one molecule of alkane. Following are the first five
members of the homologous series of alkanes (general formula C nH2n+2).(any example of
homologous series table to be given)

7. How can ethanol and ethanoic acid be differentiated on the basis of their physical
and chemical properties?
Difference on the basis of physical properties
Property Ethanol Ethanoic acid

(i) State Liquid Liquid

(ii) Odour Sweet smell Pungent vinegar-like smell

(iii) Melting
156 K 290 K
point

(iv) Boiling
351 K 391 K
point

Difference on the basis of chemical properties

Test Ethanol Ethanoic acid

No change in the colour of

(i) Litmus test Blue litmus solution turns red.
litmus solution.

CH3COOH + NaHCO3 →
C2H5OH + NaHCO3 → No
(ii) Sodium hydrogen CH3COONa + H2O + CO2 Brisk
reaction No brisk
carbonate test effervescence due to evolution of
effervescence.
CO2.

(iii) Alkaline potassium On heating, pink colour

Does not happen so.
permanganate disappears.

8. Why does micelle formation take place when soap is added to water? Will a
micelle be formed in other solvents such as ethanol also?
Micelle formation takes place when soap is added to water because the hydrocarbon
chains of soap molecules are hydrophobic (water repelling) which are insoluble in water,
but the ionic ends of soap molecules are hydrophilic (water attracting) and hence soluble

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in water. Such micelle formation will not be possible in other solvents like ethanol in which
sodium salt of fatty acids do not dissolve.

9. Why are carbon and its compounds used as fuels for most applications?
Carbon and its compounds give a large amount of heat per unit weight and are therefore,
used as fuels for most applications.
10. Explain the formation of scum when hard water is treated with soap.
Hard water contains salts of calcium and magnesium. Calcium and magnesium on
reacting with soap form insoluble precipitate called scum. The scum formation lessens the
cleansing property of soaps in hard water.

11. What change will you observe if you test soap with litmus paper (red and blue)?
Red litmus will turn blue because soap is alkaline in nature. Blue litmus remains blue in
soap solution.

12. What is hydrogenation? What is its industrial application?

The addition of hydrogen to an unsaturated hydrocarbon to obtain a saturated
hydrocarbon is called hydrogenation. The process of hydrogenation takes place in the
presence of nickel (Ni) or palladium (Pd) metals as catalyst.

Application: The process of hydrogenation has an important industrial application. It is

used to prepare vegetable ghee (or vanaspati ghee) from vegetable oils.

13. Which of the following hydrocarbons undergo addition reactions:

C2H6, C3H8, C3H6, C2H2 and CH4
Addition reactions take place only in unsaturated hydrocarbons. So, addition reaction take
place only in C3H6 and C2H2.

14. Give a test that can be used to differentiate chemically between butter and
cooking oil.
Butter is a saturated carbon compound while cooking oil is an unsaturated carbon
compound. An unsaturated compound decolourises bromine water, while a saturated
compound cannot decolourise it. So, we can distinguish chemically between a cooking oil
and butter by the bromine water. Add bromine water to a little of cooking oil and butter
taken in separate test-tubes.
• Cooking oil decolourises bromine water showing that it is an unsaturated
compound.
• Butter does not decolourise bromine water showing that it is a saturated
compound.
15. Explain the mechanism of the cleaning action of soaps.
When a dirty cloth is put in water containing dissolved soap, then
the hydrocarbon end of the soap molecules in micelle attach to the
oil or grease particles present on the surface of dirty cloth. In this
way the soap micelle entraps the oily or greasy particles by using its
hydrocarbon ends. The ionic ends of the soap molecules in the
micelles, however, remain attached to water. When the dirty cloth is
agitated in soap solution, the oily and greasy particles present on its
surface and entrapped by soap micelles get dispersed in water due to which the soap
water becomes dirty, but the cloth gets cleaned. The cloth is cleaned thoroughly by rinsing
in clean water.

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NOTES-
BONDING IN CARBON
Atomic number of carbon is 6.
Electronic configuration- 2,4
Valency= 4
Carbon atom attains noble gas configuration(achieves octet) by sharing its 4 valence
electrons with either other carbon atoms or atoms of other elements. The chemical bond
which is formed by the sharing of electron pair/pairs between two atoms is known as
covalent bond.

Why does carbon not form ionic bond?

Carbon has 4 valence electrons and needs to gain or lose 4 electrons to attain noble gas
configuration. But this is not possible because-
(i) if it gains 4 electrons to form the anion C4-, then it would be difficult for its nucleus
containing 6 protons to hold 10 electrons.
(ii) if it loses 4 electrons to form the cation C4+, then it would require large amount of
energy to remove 4 electrons from its nucleus containing 6 protons to hold 2 electrons.

Electron dot structure of covalent bonding in molecules

Name Electron dot structure Nam Electron dot structure

e
H2 CO2

H-H O=C=O
O2 O=O H2S H-S-H

N2 S8

CH4 F2 F=F

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