Carbon is a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. It's nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds.
Related terms
Covalent Bond: A chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms.
Carbon Cycle: The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.
Organic Chemistry: The study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds that contain carbon atoms.