A Carbon with its structure, electron-bonding ability, functional groups, and isomers make possible the building of a variety of biological molecules.

All the characteristics of carbon begin with its atoms' structure. Carbon atoms are quite small, with only a total of six electrons: two electrons in the first shell and four electrons in the outer shell. According to the octet rule, which states that the outer shell is most stable when it has eight electrons, a carbon atom must acquire four electrons to complete its outer shell. As a result, it can share electrons with as many as four other elements. A carbon atom almost always shares electrons with CHNOPS (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur) that make up 98 percent of the body weight of organisms. Not only CHNOPS, a carbon atom often shares electrons with another carbon atom. The amount of atoms a carbon could...