Question

The chemical formula of the compound containing carbon and oxygen is:
(A) $ CO $
(B) $ \text{CO}_{2} $
(C) $ \text{CO}_{3} $
(D) both A. and B.

Answer 1

Hint: A chemical compound consisting only of carbon and oxygen is an oxo carbon or oxide of carbon. Carbon monoxide ( $ CO $ ) and carbon dioxide ( $ C{{O}_{2}} $ ) are the easiest and most common oxo carbons.

Complete step by step solution:
A chemical compound consisting only of carbon and oxygen is an oxo carbon or oxide of carbon. Carbon monoxide ( $ CO $ ) and carbon dioxide ( $ C{{O}_{2}} $ ) are the easiest and most common oxo carbons.
Carbon is normally tetravalent, while oxygen is divalent, and each carbon atom may be bound to four other atoms in most oxo carbons (as in most other carbon compounds), while oxygen may be bound to at most two. In addition, while carbon can bind to other carbons in order to form arbitrarily large chains or networks, three or more oxygen chains are rarely, if ever, observed.
Thus, the known electrically neutral oxo carbons usually consist of one or more carbon skeletons connected and terminated by oxide ( $ -O-,=O $ ) or peroxide ( $ -O-O- $ ) groups (including cyclic and aromatic structures).
Hence, the correct option is (D.)

Additional Information:
A colourless gas with a faint sharp smell and a sour taste is carbon dioxide. It is one of the most important greenhouse gases associated with global warming, but it is a minor component of the atmosphere of the Earth, formed by the combustion of carbon-containing materials, the fermentation and respiration of animals, and used by plants for carbohydrate photosynthesis. The presence of gas in the atmosphere prevents some of the radiant energy that Earth receives from returning to space, creating the so-called greenhouse effect.

Note:
Carbon monoxide is a colourless odourless, very toxic gas that is formed as a product of the incomplete combustion of carbon or a carbon compound.