Carbon is located on the second period and fourteenth row in the periodic table of elements. It is normally a black solid, though is famous for having many allotropes (soot, graphite, diamond, buckyballs, nanotubes, and graphene). It can form up to 4 bonds. This is what makes it suitable for life. Many new forms of carbon have been recently identified, and there could still be many more undiscovered allotropes of carbon. It can form carbides with some elements such as Tungsten. It also forms hydrocarbons.

Carbon is one of the most essential elements involved in life. It is the backbone of every large molecule. there is even a field of chemistry dedicated to carbon; organic chemistry deals with any compound with carbon as a constituent. Carbon is also used in pencils in the form of graphite. Along with pencils, graphite is also used as an anode for electrolysis.