KellyChemmy : Carbon: Oral Report

Carbon

Hi you guys! I'm going to be talking about the element carbon! Carbon is a nonmetal element that is one of the only nonmetals that is able to conduct electricity. Carbon is able to bond with itself and other elements to create almost ten million different compounds. Carbon is also the base of organic chemistry because it occurs in all living organisms. Elemental carbon can be a very wide range of substances or materials. For example, carbon can be substances that are super hard like diamond but it can also be a very soft substance as well like Graphite. Elemental carbon is used in many different substances for many different reasons. It's used in diamonds (which are so hard they can cut through anything), in graphite (for example pencils), as lubricant (smooth/soft material), is used to protect substances from rusting, and is used in charcoal to remove toxins, tastes, and odors (carbon in charcoal is used in filters).

The isotope carbon-14 is part of the carbon and it's used in a process to test how old things are (called carbon dating). The way you tell how old things are in carbon dating is because everything in carbon disappears over time so if you check how much carbon is left, you can see how long ago it died. carbon has a high melting point (meaning it takes really high heat to melt it). It must be at least 3800 degrees celsius in order for carbon to melt. Pure carbon exists in absolutely everything and has existed since prehistoric time. Although carbon is non toxic, if you inhale it the particles like soot can damage lung tissue. Carbon is only able to conduct electricity in graphite (which is a solid) because graphite has electrons of the carbon atoms that are not involved in the crystal bonding of the solid which makes the electrons free therefore electricity can be conducted through it. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe along side hydrogen, helium, and oxygen which are found in higher amounts in terms of mass.

Here are some photos!