It is important to notice that all living things are composed of molecules that contain carbon for instance lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Besides, the carbon atom can form four chemical bonds with other atoms because it has 6 electrons. Another thing to bring to your attention is that 2 electrons of the carbon atom are found in the inner electron shell while the other four electrons are valence electrons which facilitate the covalent bonding with other electrons. I also noticed that Carbon can form isomers. Also, although silicon has four valence electrons same as the Carbon atom, it is not able to fit with a variety of atoms like the carbon for it is much bigger.
Typically, without the presence of carbon atoms, there would be no existence of living things since there are made of molecules that contain the carbon atom. Also, the carbon atom is the most powerful atom which can form a variety of bonds. According to the post, the carbon atom has the capability of forming double or triple bonds as well as carbon-to-carbon chains. It is also the most powerful since it can form isomers. Notably, although no atom can form 8 bonds in the periodic table, Chlorine can form 7 bonds due to its one electron in the valence shell. However, Chlorine becomes weaker than carbon because it only forms the bonds if it is in its highest oxidation state compared to the opponent atom. The most fascinating part is the Carbon's capability to form carbon-to-carbon chains and also form both triple and double bonds. More so the carbon atom can form bonds within the molecule. These bonds are formed in a variety of geometric arrangements. It is of wonder that the reason why silicon cannot fit together with a variety of atoms compared to carbon is just that the carbon atom is much smaller than the Silicon. Furthermore, out of all the atoms in the periodic table, no atom has the capability of forming eight bonds.
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