Carbon forms a large number of compounds, more than any other element. Because of its willingness to bond to other nonmetallic elements it is often referred to as the building block of life.

• While carbon forms many different compounds it is a relatively unreactive element.

• There are several allotropes (different forms) of carbon with the three most well known being amorphous carbon (coal, soot etc), diamond and graphite.

• The properties of diamond and graphite are very different with diamond being transparent and very hard while graphite is black and soft (soft enough to write on paper).

• Graphite is used for its thermal insulation (lower rate of heat transfer) properties. It is also a very good conductor or electricity.

• The carbon atoms in graphite are bonded in flat hexagonal lattices and layered in sheets.

• Carbon is the 4th most common element in the Universe (after hydrogen, helium and oxygen). It is the 15th most common element in the Earth’s crust while it is the second most common element in the human body (behind oxygen).

• Carbon has the highest melting point of all elements, around 3500 °C (3773 K, 6332 °F).

• Hydrocarbons are organic compounds made entirely of molecules featuring just hydrogen and carbon. Organic chemistry involves the study of hydrocarbons.

• The simplest hydrocarbon compound is methane (CH₄).

• Carbon was discovered by early human civilizations in the form charcoal and soot.