Carbon and its Compounds

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Chemistry | Form 2 | Topic 11 Carbon and its Compounds

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• Describe the allotropes of carbon and the amorphous forms.
• Describe the properties and uses of carbon and its reaction as a reducing agent.
• Compare carbon(IV) oxide and carbon(II) oxide.
• Describe carbonates and hydrogen carbonates and the carbon cycle.

Summary

Carbon exists as the crystalline allotropes diamond and graphite and as amorphous forms such as charcoal and soot. Carbon burns to carbon(IV) oxide in plenty of air and to poisonous carbon(II) oxide in limited air. CO₂ is acidic and turns limewater milky; CO is neutral and a powerful reducing agent.