The big picture
Every idea here comes from one shared pair.
| Idea | Remember | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The bond that shares | A shared pair counts into both shells at once | CH₄, four shared pairs |
| Why carbon builds everything | Four slots per carbon, spent on H or on C | chains, branches, rings |
| Single or double | A double or triple bond fades bromine water | ethene, ethyne fade the test |
| One part swapped | The group decides the family | –OH: alcohol; –COOH: acid |
| A family with one difference | Same group, each one CH₂ above the last | CH₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₈, C₄H₁₀ |
| Ethanol | –OH on two carbons: solvent, fuel, liquid in the cold | C₂H₅OH |
| Ethanoic acid | –COOH on a CH₃: a weak acid | CH₃COOH, vinegar |
| Soaps bridge oil and water | Two ends wrap a drop and carry it away | tail in oil, head in water |
| Naming a compound | A stem for the carbons, an ending for the group | butan + oic acid = butanoic acid |
| An acid and an alcohol | They make an ester and water | CH₃COOH + CH₃OH → CH₃COOCH₃ + H₂O |
| An ester and an alkali | They make an alcohol and a sodium salt | CH₃COOCH₃ + NaOH → CH₃OH + CH₃COONa |
Count the slots. Read the group. Those two habits work in each row.
Open Chapter 4 in your Class 10 book, Science. It is Carbon and its Compounds. It goes further into each family.
Next comes Life Processes. It is what every living body is doing right now. Many parts of living bodies are carbon compounds like these.