Carbon: The Versatile Element Essential for Life
The question asks to identify a versatile element that serves as the foundation for all living organisms and is also crucial for many materials we use.
Role of Carbon in Life
Carbon (C) is uniquely suited to be the backbone of life. It can form four stable covalent bonds with other atoms, including itself. This allows carbon atoms to link together to form long chains, branched structures, and rings, creating the vast array of complex organic molecules essential for life, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (DNA/RNA).
Carbon in Materials
Beyond biology, carbon is fundamental to numerous materials. It exists in various forms (allotropes) like diamond (hard, used in tools and jewelry) and graphite (soft, used in pencils and lubricants). Carbon compounds form the basis of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), plastics, synthetic fibers, and advanced materials like carbon nanotubes and graphene.
Analysis of Options
- Curium (Cm): A synthetic, radioactive element. Not fundamental to life or common materials.
- Barium (Ba): An alkaline earth metal, used in medical imaging and fireworks. Not the basis of life.
- Antimony (Sb): A metalloid used in semiconductors and flame retardants. Not the basis of life.
- Carbon (C): The element that forms the basis of organic chemistry, all known life, and many essential materials.
Therefore, Carbon is the versatile element described in the question.
Similar Questions
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- If a solution changes the colour of blue litmus paper to red, what will the pH of this solution be?
- Which of the following is NOT an allotrope of Carbon?
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Important Questions from Basic Concepts of Chemistry
Which of the following pair is correct?
I. Isotopes – different mass numbers
II. Isobars – different atomic numbers
Which of the following is a zone of a flame?
I. Dark
II. Luminous
III. Non-Luminous
If formula of sodium salt of an anion X is \(Na_2X\) , then the formula of its aluminium salt would be
Which of the following set contains same number of molecules?
A. 1 gram O 2, 2 grams SO 2
B. 1 gram CO 2, 1 gram N 2O
C. 1 gram O 2, 1 gram O 3
The volume of CO 2liberated at STP when 10 gm of 90% pure limestone strongly heated is
