It is said that the carbon atom is a tetra valence which means, it contains 4 covalent bonds that can be bonded with other atoms. Therefore, it needs 4 hydrogen atoms to bind into 1 carbon atom. Carbon Atom contains a total of 6 electrons that occupies the 2 shells which is the K (have 2 electrons) and L (have 4 electrons) shells. The outermost shell of carbon atoms that contains 4 electrons is called as valence shell. In order to complete its octet, carbon Atom needs other atoms to share their valence electrons.