Page 44 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Key facts about...
Carbon
The sixth most common element, making 0.2% of the Earth’s crust
An important building block of all natural substances
Carbon dioxide is an important gas in the air
Good conductor of electricity
A non-metal, chemical symbol C
The most versatile of all the elements; 94% of all compounds contain carbon
Hardest form is diamond
Can be burned as a fuel
Can combine into long chains, the basis of plastics
Melts at a high temperature (3550°C)
 Engine oil is one of the many fractions of crude oil extracted by fractionation in a refinery.
 A petrochemical plant as seen from the air. The organisation of such a plant is a very complex task. Each of the processes has to be arranged so that the products from one plant become the raw materials for another. Many materials also have to be recycled so they can be processed properly. This adds to the complexity of the site.
Atomic number 6, atomic weight about 12
Used as the standard from which the atomic weights of all other elements are calculated
SHELL DIAGRAMS
The shell diagram on this page represents an atom of the element carbon. The total number of electrons are shown in the relevant orbitals, or shells,
around the central nucleus. Electron shell
Electron
Nucleus containing protons and neutrons (called nucleons)
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