This page gives you the official NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 4, Carbon and its Compounds — the 21-page chapter that runs from page 57 to page 78 of the Science textbook. It covers covalent bonding, why carbon forms millions of compounds, combustion and oxidation, ethanol and ethanoic acid, and soaps and detergents.
The official NCERT PDF is right below — the complete chapter as printed, with every figure, table, activity and exercise. Keep scrolling and you will find every section explained with page references, original worked examples and revision tables you can use without opening the file.
Download the Carbon and its Compounds Class 10 Chapter PDF
Download the official carbon and its compounds class 10 chapter PDF straight from ncert.nic.in — the complete NCERT Science chapter as printed, including every figure, table, activity and the end-of-chapter exercises. This file is the authoritative source for the chapter text, so any formula, figure or answer on this page can be checked against it.
If you would rather browse the whole book, the NCERT textbook portal lists every Class 10 Science chapter PDF on ncert.nic.in.
Chapter at a Glance: What the PDF Contains
The counts table at the top of this page shows exactly how much the chapter holds — its sections, figures, activities and exercise questions. What the numbers do not show is the direction of the book’s argument, which runs from the first carbon–carbon single bond to the soap micelle that lifts oil off cloth.
On the printed pages, the chapter spans pages 57–78 and follows the book’s own four-part structure:
- Section 4.1, pages 59–61 — bonding in carbon and the covalent bond: why carbon shares electrons, single double and triple bonds, methane as the first worked molecule, and the allotropes diamond, graphite and C-60 fullerene.
- Section 4.2, pages 62–68 — the versatile nature of carbon: tetravalency and catenation, saturated and unsaturated compounds, chains branches and rings, structural isomers, functional groups and heteroatoms, the homologous series, and the naming rules of Table 4.4.
- Section 4.3, pages 69–71 — chemical properties: combustion and flame colour, coal and petroleum as fossil fuels, oxidation by oxidising agents, addition reactions including hydrogenation, and substitution reactions.
- Section 4.4, pages 71–74 — ethanol and ethanoic acid: their properties and reactions, plus esterification and saponification.
- Pages 74–76 — soaps, micelles, hard water and detergents.
- Pages 77–78 — the ‘What you have learnt’ summary, the exercises and a group activity.
What This Chapter Covers, Section by Section
Think of this section as a map of the PDF. Read it once, and you will always know which part of the chapter holds the idea you are looking for.
- Section 4.1 (pages 59–61) — why carbon finds ions impossible and shares electrons instead; what a covalent bond is; single, double and triple bonds in simple molecules; and methane — a major component of biogas and CNG — as the first carbon compound worked out in detail. The section closes with the allotropes: diamond, graphite and C-60 fullerene, each built of carbon atoms bonded differently.
- Section 4.2 (pages 62–68) — the two properties behind carbon’s millions of compounds: tetravalency and catenation. It distinguishes saturated from unsaturated compounds, shows straight chains, branched chains and rings, introduces structural isomers with butane, then adds heteroatoms and functional groups (Table 4.3), the homologous series, and the step-by-step naming method of Table 4.4.
- Section 4.3 (pages 69–71) — chemical behaviour: combustion of carbon, methane and ethanol; why a candle burns with a flame while coal glows without one; how coal and petroleum formed; oxidation by oxidising agents such as alkaline potassium permanganate; addition reactions, including hydrogenation of vegetable oils; and substitution, such as chlorine replacing hydrogen in methane in sunlight.
- Section 4.4 (pages 71–74) — two commercially important compounds. Ethanol: the alcohol of alcoholic drinks, a good solvent used in tincture iodine and cough syrups, reacting with sodium and dehydrating with hot concentrated sulphuric acid. Ethanoic acid: the acid of vinegar (5–8% solution in water), which freezes in winter and is then called glacial acetic acid; it is a weak acid that reacts with bases, carbonates and hydrogencarbonates, and it forms esters with alcohols.
- Soaps and detergents (pages 74–76) — why soap cleans: its molecule has an ionic end that loves water and a long hydrocarbon chain that loves oil. Micelles form around oil droplets, hard water makes scum, and detergents stay effective where soap fails.
- Summary and exercises (pages 77–78) — the ‘What you have learnt’ list, the end-of-chapter exercises, and a group activity in which you make soap from vegetable oil.
Key Concepts: The Chain of Ideas the Chapter Builds
This section is for the student who wants the logic of the chapter in ten minutes. Six ideas, in the order the book builds them, each ending in the ‘so what’ that the next idea needs.
Link 1 — Why carbon shares electrons instead of forming ions
Carbon has four valence electrons. To form a C4− ion it would need to hold four extra electrons — ten in all — with only six protons pulling on them, which the book calls difficult. To form C4+ it would have to give up four electrons, costing too much energy (NCERT, p. 59).
Sharing avoids both problems. Each carbon atom shares its four valence electrons, so every atom in the molecule ends with a full outer shell — eight for carbon, two for hydrogen. The shared pairs may number one, two or three: a single, double or triple bond, exactly as the simple molecules in the figures below show.
Link 2 — What sharing does to physical properties
Because the bonds are shared pairs and no ions are formed, a covalent compound contains no charged particles. That is why carbon compounds are largely poor conductors of electricity (NCERT, p. 60).
The forces between molecules are also weak, so little heat separates them. Table 4.1 on NCERT page 60 shows methane melting at 90 K and boiling at 111 K — far below the melting and boiling points of the ionic compounds you met in Chapter 3.
Link 3 — Why carbon forms millions of compounds
Two properties do the work. Tetravalency means carbon can bond with four other atoms. Catenation means it can bond with other carbon atoms to build long chains, branched chains and rings (NCERT, p. 62).
Bonding with itself is what makes the numbers explode: one carbon joins a second, then a third, and with each new carbon the possible structures multiply. No other element shows catenation to anywhere near this extent. Carbon’s small size lets its nucleus hold shared pairs strongly, so the carbon–carbon bond is very stable (NCERT, p. 62).
Link 4 — Saturated versus unsaturated compounds
A carbon chain may be joined by single bonds only, or it may carry a double or triple bond. The book names these saturated (single bonds only) and unsaturated (at least one double or triple bond) (NCERT, pp. 63–64). The difference changes chemistry, flame colour and reactivity, as the table shows.
| Feature | Saturated | Unsaturated |
|---|---|---|
| Bonds between carbon atoms | Only single bonds | One or more double or triple bonds |
| Example | Ethane \( \mathrm{C_2H_6} \) | Ethene \( \mathrm{C_2H_4} \), ethyne \( \mathrm{C_2H_2} \) |
| Formula pattern (read from Table 4.2) | Alkanes: \( \mathrm{C_nH_{2n+2}} \) | Alkenes: \( \mathrm{C_nH_{2n}} \); alkynes: \( \mathrm{C_nH_{2n-2}} \) |
| Reactivity | Normally not very reactive (p. 63) | More reactive than saturated compounds (p. 64) |
| Flame with enough air | Clean blue flame (p. 69) | Yellow flame with lots of black smoke (p. 69) |
| Addition reactions | No double or triple bond to add across; fairly unreactive (p. 71) | Add hydrogen across the multiple bond (p. 71) |
Link 5 — How structure creates isomers
With four carbon atoms the skeleton can be drawn two ways: a straight chain or a branched chain. Both fill with hydrogen to give the same formula \( \mathrm{C_4H_{10}} \), yet the two molecules are different compounds (NCERT, p. 65).
Molecules with the same formula but different structures are structural isomers. This is part of the chapter’s answer to ‘why so many carbon compounds?’ — not just more atoms, but the same atoms arranged differently.
Link 6 — How functional groups decide behaviour
A chain of carbon and hydrogen alone is fairly inert. Replace one hydrogen with a different atom — chlorine, bromine or oxygen — and the compound gains a personality. The replacing element is a heteroatom, and the atom or group that carries it is the functional group (NCERT, pp. 65–66).
The chapter’s key claim: the functional group decides the chemical properties, no matter how long the chain. That is why methanol, ethanol and propanol behave alike. A homologous series is exactly this — the same functional group on chains of different lengths, successive members differing by one \( \mathrm{CH_2} \) unit (NCERT, p. 66).
Reading the Diagrams: A Walkthrough of the Chapter’s Key Figures
The figures in this chapter are not decoration. Each one encodes a structure you may be asked to draw or interpret, and together they teach the single visual skill the chapter demands: reading a line as a shared pair of electrons.
Single, double and triple bonds in simple molecules
Hydrogen has one valence electron and needs one more. Two hydrogen atoms share a pair, and each finishes with the two-electron configuration of helium. That shared pair is one covalent bond.
A bond can be drawn either as paired dots or as a single line between the atoms. From here on the book uses the line, so get used to reading one line as exactly one shared pair of electrons.
Oxygen has six valence electrons and needs two more, so each oxygen atom contributes two electrons. Two shared pairs form a double bond — drawn as two lines. The pattern you need is now visible: one shared pair is a single bond, two are a double bond.
Nitrogen needs three more electrons, so each atom contributes three. Three shared pairs form a triple bond. These four figures are the entire foundation for reading every hydrocarbon structure that follows.
Methane and the allotropes of carbon
Carbon has four valence electrons and hydrogen has one, so one carbon shares all four with four hydrogens. The electron dot structure shows four shared pairs around the carbon: carbon reaches an octet, each hydrogen reaches helium’s configuration. This is the template for every alkane in Table 4.2.
Read the diamond structure as a network: every carbon is bonded to four others, stretching rigidly in three dimensions. That network is why the book calls diamond the hardest substance known (NCERT, p. 61).
The contrast is in the bonding. In graphite each carbon bonds to three others in the same plane, forming flat hexagonal layers stacked one above the other, with one double bond per carbon keeping its valency satisfied. The layered structure makes graphite smooth and slippery, and the same carbon atoms now conduct electricity — unlike diamond (NCERT, p. 61).
Structures you will be asked to draw
Ethane is built in steps: join the carbons with a single bond (Fig 4.6a), then use hydrogen to satisfy the remaining valencies. The finished structure has one C–C bond and six C–H bonds — count them, because Exercise Q1 is exactly this count (NCERT, p. 63).
Ethene shows what happens when single bonds do not fill every valency: after joining the two carbons, one valency per carbon is still free, so two shared pairs form a double bond. That double bond is what makes the compound unsaturated and more reactive (NCERT, p. 64).
This is the chapter’s picture of isomerism: both molecules have the formula \( \mathrm{C_4H_{10}} \), but one is a straight chain and the other is branched. Identical formula, different structure — that is the definition of structural isomers (NCERT, p. 65).
Benzene (\( \mathrm{C_6H_6} \)) is the book’s example of a ring: six carbons in a cycle, each carrying one hydrogen. It shows that cyclic compounds exist alongside straight and branched chains, and that a ring can also be unsaturated (NCERT, p. 65). The book’s cyclohexane figure on the same page shows the saturated version.
Diagrams from the activities: ester and micelle
Figure 4.11 shows the set-up for Activity 4.8: 1 mL ethanol and 1 mL glacial acetic acid with a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, warmed in a water bath for at least five minutes. The sweet-smelling product is the ester — the reaction is esterification, and it is reversible (NCERT, p. 73).
Figure 4.12 shows a micelle: soap molecules arrange themselves with their long hydrocarbon tails gathered around an oil droplet and their ionic ends facing the surrounding water (NCERT, p. 75). Read the diagram as two different personalities in one molecule — one end loves water, the other loves oil — and the whole cleaning mechanism follows.
Definitions: The Terms to Know and Write Correctly
This glossary gives the chapter’s technical terms in wording you can reproduce in an answer. Where the book’s own sentence is already the clearest, the page reference sends you to it.
| Term | Plain definition | NCERT page |
|---|---|---|
| Covalent bond | A bond formed when two atoms share one or more pairs of electrons so both reach a filled outer shell | p. 60 |
| Tetravalency | Carbon’s valency of four — it can bond with four other atoms | p. 62 |
| Catenation | Carbon’s ability to bond with other carbon atoms, forming long chains, branched chains or rings | p. 62 |
| Saturated carbon compound | A compound in which the carbon atoms are linked only by single bonds; normally not very reactive | p. 63 |
| Unsaturated carbon compound | A compound with at least one double or triple bond between carbon atoms; more reactive than saturated ones | p. 64 |
| Structural isomer | Molecules with the same molecular formula but different structures | p. 65 |
| Hydrocarbon | A compound containing only carbon and hydrogen | p. 65 |
| Alkane | A saturated hydrocarbon — only single bonds between carbons | p. 65 |
| Alkene | An unsaturated hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds | p. 65 |
| Alkyne | An unsaturated hydrocarbon containing one or more triple bonds | p. 65 |
| Heteroatom | An element other than carbon or hydrogen that replaces hydrogen in a hydrocarbon chain, such as chlorine, bromine or oxygen | p. 65 |
| Functional group | A heteroatom, or a group containing one, that gives a compound specific properties regardless of chain length | p. 66 |
| Homologous series | A family of compounds with the same functional group on chains of different lengths; successive members differ by one \( \mathrm{CH_2} \) unit | p. 66 |
| Oxidising agent | A substance that adds oxygen to another substance, for example alkaline potassium permanganate or acidified potassium dichromate | p. 70 |
| Addition reaction | A reaction in which atoms add across the double or triple bond of an unsaturated compound | p. 71 |
| Substitution reaction | A reaction in which one atom or group replaces another, such as chlorine replacing hydrogen in sunlight | p. 71 |
| Hydrogenation | Adding hydrogen to unsaturated hydrocarbons in the presence of a nickel or palladium catalyst | p. 71 |
| Esterification | The reaction of an acid with an alcohol, giving an ester and water | p. 73 |
| Saponification | The reaction of an ester with sodium hydroxide to give an alcohol and the sodium salt of a carboxylic acid; used in soap-making | p. 73 |
| Micelle | The structure soap molecules form in water — hydrocarbon tails gathered around an oil droplet with ionic ends facing the water | p. 75 |
To fix the first six chain prefixes in order — methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane — match the first letters: My Elephant Picks Blueberries, Paints Houses.
Common Mistakes Students Make in This Chapter
The questions in this chapter are built around a small set of traps. Naming the trap before you walk into it is cheaper than losing the mark.
- Miscounting the covalent bonds. A student sees \( \mathrm{C_2H_6} \) and counts six bonds, one per hydrogen. The sixth… no — the correct count adds the carbon–carbon bond: 6 C–H bonds + 1 C–C bond = 7 covalent bonds (NCERT, p. 77, Exercise Q1). For propane the same logic gives 8 + 2 = 10.
- Writing carbon as C4+ or C4−. Carbon does not form these ions. Gaining four electrons forces a six-proton nucleus to hold ten electrons; losing four costs too much energy (NCERT, p. 59). Carbon shares its four valence electrons instead.
- Turning ‘saturated burns clean’ into an absolute rule. Saturated hydrocarbons give a clean flame only with enough air. Limit the air supply and even a saturated hydrocarbon burns with a sooty flame — exactly why a stove with blocked air holes blackens your vessel (NCERT, p. 69).
- Reaching for the sodium test to tell ethanol from ethanoic acid. The chapter’s sharper tests are the carbonate test and litmus: ethanoic acid releases carbon dioxide from sodium carbonate or sodium hydrogencarbonate, and it turns blue litmus red, while ethanol is neutral (Activities 4.7 and 4.9, NCERT, pp. 73–74).
- Confusing addition with substitution. Addition happens at a double or triple bond — hydrogenation adds hydrogen across the multiple bond with a nickel catalyst. Substitution replaces a hydrogen atom one at a time — chlorine replacing hydrogen in methane in sunlight. One makes a multiple bond disappear; the other trades one atom for another (NCERT, p. 71).
- Forgetting the final ‘e’ rule in naming. A ketone suffix starts with a vowel, so the chain name drops its final ‘e’: propane − e + one = propanone, not propaneone (NCERT, p. 67).
| Mistake | Correct rule | How to check your answer |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Ethane has 6 covalent bonds’ | 6 C–H bonds + 1 C–C bond = 7 | Draw the electron dot structure and count every shared pair |
| ‘Carbon forms C4+ or C4− ions’ | Carbon shares its four valence electrons | Neither ion forms easily: 6 protons cannot hold 10 electrons; removing 4 electrons costs too much energy |
| ‘Saturated compounds never burn sooty’ | They burn cleanly only with enough air | Limit the air and look for a sooty deposit on a plate above the flame |
| ‘Sodium metal separates ethanol from ethanoic acid’ | Use carbonates/hydrogencarbonates or litmus | Ethanoic acid gives CO2 (milky limewater) and turns blue litmus red; ethanol does neither |
| ‘Addition and substitution are the same’ | Addition acts on double/triple bonds; substitution replaces H atoms one by one | Addition needs an unsaturated compound; chlorine + methane in sunlight is substitution |
| ‘A three-carbon ketone is propaneone’ | Drop the final ‘e’ before a vowel-starting suffix | Apply the book’s rule: propane − e + one = propanone |
What the Exercises Test and How to Practise This Chapter
The chapter closes with exercises Q1 to Q15. The table below maps each one to the section it tests, so you can practise by weakness instead of question order.
| Exercise | What it tests | What a complete answer needs |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Counting covalent bonds (Section 4.1) | Count 6 C–H bonds plus 1 C–C bond; the answer is 7 covalent bonds |
| Q2 | Functional groups (Section 4.2) | The name ends in ‘-one’, so the functional group is a ketone |
| Q3 | Incomplete combustion (4.3.1) | Blackening means the fuel is not burning completely — the air holes are blocked |
| Q4 | Nature of the covalent bond (Section 4.1) | Define the covalent bond as shared electron pairs; show carbon sharing 4 electrons and chlorine sharing 1 in CH3Cl, both reaching noble-gas configuration |
| Q5 | Electron dot structures (Sections 4.1, 4.2) | Draw all four: ethanoic acid (two carbons with a –COOH group), H2S, propanone (three carbons with a ketone group), F2 — every atom must complete its octet |
| Q6 | Homologous series (4.2.4) | Define it (same functional group, chains of different lengths, CH2 steps) and give one family, such as CH4, C2H6, C3H8 |
| Q7 | Ethanol vs ethanoic acid (Section 4.4) | Physical: ethanoic acid freezes in winter (mp 290 K), ethanol does not. Chemical: carbonates/hydrogencarbonates give CO2 with ethanoic acid only; litmus shows ethanoic acid is a weak acid, ethanol neutral |
| Q8 | Micelles (soap section) | Explain why micelles form (hydrocarbon tail + ionic head); then reason that a non-aqueous solvent such as ethanol would change where each end points |
| Q9 | Fuels (4.3.1) | Most carbon compounds release a large amount of heat and light on burning (NCERT, p. 69) |
| Q10 | Hard water (soap section) | Soap reacts with calcium and magnesium salts in hard water to form an insoluble curdy precipitate — scum — so more soap is needed |
| Q11 | Litmus on soap (soap section) | Soap is a sodium salt of a long-chain carboxylic acid (NCERT, pp. 73–74), so its solution is basic: red litmus turns blue, blue litmus stays blue |
| Q12 | Hydrogenation (4.3.3) | Unsaturated hydrocarbons add hydrogen with a nickel or palladium catalyst; the industrial use is hydrogenation of vegetable oils |
| Q13 | Addition reactions (4.3.3) | Only the unsaturated hydrocarbons C3H6 and C2H2; the alkanes C2H6, C3H8 and CH4 have no multiple bond to add across |
| Q14 | Flame test (Activity 4.4) | Burn a small amount: a clean blue flame means saturated; a yellow flame with lots of black smoke means unsaturated (NCERT, p. 69) |
| Q15 | Cleaning action of soaps (micelle section) | Soap emulsifies oily dirt: hydrocarbon tails dissolve in the oil, ionic heads stay in water, micelles form and carry dirt away (NCERT, p. 75) |
The chapter also drops five short question blocks between sections — after 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and the soap section. Attempt each block the moment you finish that section, before moving on; the end-of-chapter exercises assume you can do all of them.
Four skills carry most of the marks in this chapter:
- Balance combustion equations in the order carbon, then hydrogen, then oxygen.
- Draw electron dot structures by first joining the carbon skeleton, then filling every remaining valency with hydrogen or the functional group’s atoms.
- Name compounds with Table 4.4: count the carbons, add the functional group’s suffix, drop the final ‘e’ before a vowel suffix, and swap ‘ane’ for ‘ene’ or ‘yne’ when the chain is unsaturated.
- Read the pattern in Table 4.2 to predict the next member of a homologous series — each step adds one \( \mathrm{CH_2} \) unit.
Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus to see exactly what is examinable this session.
Worked examples with original numbers
These four examples use the chapter’s own methods on new numbers, so you get practice the book does not give you. Follow the steps in order.
Example 1 — Count the covalent bonds in propane, \( \mathrm{C_3H_8} \).
Step 1: draw the skeleton, three carbons in a row joined by single bonds.
That gives 2 C–C bonds — the bonds students usually miss, because the formula only makes the hydrogens obvious.
Step 2: give every carbon four bonds.
The middle carbon uses two bonds to its neighbours, so it carries 2 hydrogens; each end carbon carries 3.
That is 8 C–H bonds, matching the formula.
\[ \text{Total covalent bonds} = 2\ (\text{C–C}) + 8\ (\text{C–H}) = 10 \]
Final answer: propane has 10 covalent bonds. The same counting gives ethane 7 and butane 13.
Example 2 — Name a six-carbon chain that carries a carboxylic acid group.
Step 1: six carbons in a chain is hexane (Table 4.2).
Step 2: the carboxylic acid suffix is ‘-oic acid’, which begins with a vowel, so the final ‘e’ of hexane is dropped before the suffix is added.
\[ \text{hexane} – \text{e} + \text{oic acid} = \text{hexanoic acid} \]
Final answer: hexanoic acid. This is the same rule the book uses to turn propane into propanone (NCERT, p. 67).
Example 3 — Balance the combustion of propane.
Step 1: write the skeleton and balance carbon first: \( \mathrm{C_3H_8 + O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O} \), giving 3 \( \mathrm{CO_2} \).
- Step 1: balance hydrogen: 8 hydrogens need 4 \( \mathrm{H_2O} \).
- Step 2: count oxygen on the right — \( 3 \times 2 + 4 = 10 \) — so the left needs 5 \( \mathrm{O_2} \).
\[ \mathrm{C_3H_8 + 5O_2 \rightarrow 3CO_2 + 4H_2O} \]
Final answer: 1, 5, 3, 4. Balance order matters: carbon, then hydrogen, then oxygen.
Example 4 — Draw the electron dot structure of ethyne, \( \mathrm{C_2H_2} \).
Step 1: each carbon needs four bonds.
Join the two carbons with a triple bond — three shared pairs — so each carbon has used three of its four valencies.
Step 2: one valency per carbon is still free, and the formula gives one hydrogen per carbon.
\[ \mathrm{H} – \mathrm{C} \equiv \mathrm{C} – \mathrm{H} \]
Final answer: H–C≡C–H. Every carbon reaches an octet and each hydrogen its duplet. This is the structure the book asks you to attempt on NCERT page 64.
One-Page Revision Summary and the Reaction Table
This section rebuilds the book’s own ‘What you have learnt’ list (NCERT, p. 77) in eight lines, then gives every reaction in the chapter as one table. For the night before the exam, this is the section to read.
- Carbon is versatile enough to form the basis of all living organisms and of most things we use.
- The huge variety of carbon compounds exists because of carbon’s tetravalency and its property of catenation.
- Covalent bonds form by sharing electrons, so both atoms fill their outermost shell.
- Carbon bonds with itself and with hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine.
- Carbon chains may be straight, branched or rings, and may carry single, double or triple bonds.
- A homologous series is the same functional group attached to carbon chains of different lengths.
- Functional groups — alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid — decide a compound’s properties.
- Carbon and its compounds are major fuel sources; ethanol and ethanoic acid matter in daily life; soaps and detergents remove oily dirt by emulsifying it.
| Reaction | Conditions | NCERT page |
|---|---|---|
| \( \mathrm{C} + \mathrm{O_2} \rightarrow \mathrm{CO_2} \) + heat and light | Burning in oxygen | p. 69 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_4} + 2\mathrm{O_2} \rightarrow \mathrm{CO_2} + 2\mathrm{H_2O} \) + heat and light | Burning in oxygen | p. 69 |
| \( \mathrm{C_2H_5OH} + 3\mathrm{O_2} \rightarrow 2\mathrm{CO_2} + 3\mathrm{H_2O} \) + heat and light | Burning in oxygen | p. 69 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_3CH_2OH} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_3COOH} \) (ethanol → ethanoic acid) | Alkaline potassium permanganate + heat, or acidified potassium dichromate + heat | p. 70 |
| Unsaturated hydrocarbon + \( \mathrm{H_2} \) → saturated hydrocarbon | Nickel or palladium catalyst | p. 71 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_4} + \mathrm{Cl_2} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_3Cl} + \mathrm{HCl} \) | Sunlight | p. 71 |
| \( 2\mathrm{Na} + 2\mathrm{CH_3CH_2OH} \rightarrow 2\mathrm{CH_3CH_2ONa} + \mathrm{H_2} \) | Sodium metal; product is sodium ethoxide | p. 72 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_3CH_2OH} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_2=CH_2} + \mathrm{H_2O} \) (dehydration) | Hot concentrated sulphuric acid, 443 K | p. 72 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_3COOH} + \mathrm{CH_3CH_2OH} \rightleftharpoons \mathrm{CH_3COOC_2H_5} + \mathrm{H_2O} \) | Acid catalyst, warm (esterification) | p. 73 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_3COOC_2H_5} + \mathrm{NaOH} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_3CH_2OH} + \mathrm{CH_3COONa} \) | Sodium hydroxide (saponification) | p. 73 |
| \( \mathrm{NaOH} + \mathrm{CH_3COOH} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_3COONa} + \mathrm{H_2O} \) | Acid–base reaction | p. 74 |
| \( 2\mathrm{CH_3COOH} + \mathrm{Na_2CO_3} \rightarrow 2\mathrm{CH_3COONa} + \mathrm{H_2O} + \mathrm{CO_2} \) | Sodium carbonate | p. 74 |
| \( \mathrm{CH_3COOH} + \mathrm{NaHCO_3} \rightarrow \mathrm{CH_3COONa} + \mathrm{H_2O} + \mathrm{CO_2} \) | Sodium hydrogencarbonate | p. 74 |
Conditions are what exam answers carry. Notice how many of these reactions differ only in their conditions — heat alone, a catalyst, sunlight, or an alkali. A reaction named with the wrong condition is marked wrong, so practise each row until the condition comes with the equation.
Related NCERT Chapters and Resources
This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.
Carbon and its Compounds sits in the middle of the Class 10 Science book. Chapter 1, Chemical Reactions and Equations, supplies the balancing and oxidation this chapter assumes; Chapter 2, Acids, Bases and Salts, covers the pH and limewater tests used in the activities; Chapter 5 follows next in the book. The notes below take you to that groundwork and beyond:
- Class 10 Science notes — chapter-wise revision notes for the whole book, including every chapter PDF and its key questions.
- Metals and Non-Metals (Chapter 3) notes — ionic bonding and ionic compounds, the direct contrast to the covalent compounds in this chapter.
- Life Processes (Chapter 5) notes — the next chapter in the book, which returns to carbon compounds in living systems.
- CBSE Class 10 notes hub — all subjects and all chapters in one place.
Sources and Data Verification
- The chapter described here is ‘Carbon and its Compounds’, Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook, printed on pages 57–78 of the official edition hosted on ncert.nic.in.
- This page describes that NCERT textbook only; it is not a CBSE publication, and it covers no other book or edition.
- NCERT settles the textbook text, editions and official PDFs; CBSE settles the examinable curriculum and syllabus for the board examination.
- This listing is maintained for the current academic session using the NCERT information available to us.
| What the chapter holds | Count | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Printed pages | 21 | |
| Sections in the chapter | 16 | |
| Figures with NCERT captions | 16 | |
| Tables | 5 | |
| Exercise questions | 15 | answered in our NCERT Solutions |
| In-text questions | 13 | |
| Activities | 12 | |
| Official NCERT PDF | Download the chapter PDF | the chapter exactly as NCERT publishes it |
Reference: NCERT Class 10 Science textbook, chapter 4, official edition on ncert.nic.in.
Frequently Asked Questions on Carbon and its Compounds
Why does carbon form covalent bonds instead of ionic bonds?
Because carbon cannot realistically form ions. With six protons, a C4− ion would have to hold ten electrons, and a C4+ ion would demand the energy needed to strip four electrons away. Sharing its four valence electrons lets every atom in the molecule reach a full outer shell without either cost (NCERT, p. 59).
Why is graphite a good conductor of electricity when diamond is not?
The structures differ. In diamond each carbon is bonded to four others in a rigid three-dimensional network. In graphite each carbon bonds to three others in the same plane, forming flat hexagonal layers stacked one above the other, with one double bond keeping carbon’s valency satisfied.
Different structures, very different physical properties: diamond is the hardest substance known, while graphite is smooth, slippery and a good conductor of electricity (NCERT, p. 61).
How can you test whether a hydrocarbon is saturated or unsaturated?
Burn a small amount in a good supply of air. Saturated hydrocarbons burn with a clean blue flame; unsaturated ones give a yellow flame with lots of black smoke and leave a sooty deposit (Activity 4.4, NCERT, p. 69). Remember the catch: with a limited air supply, even saturated hydrocarbons burn sooty.
Why does the bottom of a cooking vessel get blackened on the outside?
Because the air holes of the stove are blocked, so the fuel is not burning completely. Incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon produces soot — unburnt carbon — which blackens the vessel’s bottom and wastes fuel (NCERT, p. 69).
What is the difference between soap and detergent in hard water?
In hard water, soap reacts with the calcium and magnesium salts that cause hardness and forms an insoluble curdy precipitate (scum), so more soap is needed. Detergents — generally sodium salts of sulphonic acids, or ammonium salts — do not form insoluble precipitates with calcium and magnesium ions, so they remain effective in hard water (NCERT, p. 76).
What is denatured alcohol and why is it unfit for drinking?
Denatured alcohol is ethanol made unfit for drinking by adding poisonous substances such as methanol; dyes are also added to colour it blue for easy identification. This is done so that ethanol produced for industrial use cannot be misused as a drink (NCERT, p. 72).
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