Carbon is an abundant element with many properties which allow it to be the key atom essential to life.

People often refer to carbon as the building block of life, for it is present in all organic material. Its most favorable characteristic is it has the greatest capacity to bond with other atoms, including itself and most nonmetallics. It can form single, double, and even triple bonds. Also, its bond angles can form 3-D structures such as tetrahedrals, rings, and chains. This enables it to form intricate molecules such as: proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, etc. In addition, carbon can also form isomers of large molecules such as fructose and glucose. This means the compounds share the same molecular formula but different structures. Carbon also bonds well with hydrogen to form hydrocarbons, molecules of only carbon and hydrogen. The hydrogen atoms will attach to the carbon skeleton by a covalent bond. Covalent bonds are when atoms share/donate valence electrons. Hydrocarbons are the major components of petroleum used as fossil fuels. Also, fat molecules have hydrocarbon tails which can be broken down for energy. Carbon atoms are tetravalence, meaning it has four electrons available for covalent bonding in its valence shell. This makes it possible for carbon to form such complex compounds. For example, in methane (CH4), the tetravalent carbon atom forms a covalent bond with four hydrogen atoms in a tetrahedral structure.