Question

Assertion
Carbon has the ability to form long carbon chains.
Reason
Carbon has a unique property of ability to form long straight and branched chains called catenation.

Read the assertion and reason carefully and answer the question on the basis of following options. You have to select the one that describes the two statements.
A. Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
B. Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
C. Assertion is correct but reason is incorrect.
D. Assertion is incorrect but reason is correct.

Answer 1

Hint: Carbon is a chemical element represented by the symbol C having atomic number 6. It belongs to the 14th group of periodic tables and is found as the 15th most abundant element in the earth’s crust and it has three naturally occurring isotopes.

Complete Solution :
- Catenation can be defined as the self-linking of atoms of an element to form chains and rings and it can also be defined or we can say that this definition can be extended by mentioning that it can also form layers like two-dimensional catenation and space lattices like three-dimensional catenation. Catenation generally occurs in carbon because carbon forms covalent bonds to form longer chains and structures with other carbon atoms. Carbon is best known for its catenation properties with the analysis of catenated carbon structures in organic chemistry.
- Hence from the above discussion we can conclude that option A is the correct answer i.e. carbon has the ability to form long carbon chains and this property is explained on the basis of catenation.
So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: Catenation property also shows periodic effects i.e. catenation tendency decreases as we move down the group. This happens because the atomic size increases as we move down the group due to which the strength of the covalent bond decreases and as a result the catenation property also decreases down the group.