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Which can make 4 covalent bonds? Carbon, Silicon, or both?

User Androme
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1 Answer

7 votes

Answer:

I would say both

Step-by-step explanation:

Each silicon atom has four valence electrons which are shared, forming covalent bonds with the four surrounding Si atoms.

Carbon contains four electrons in its outer shell. Therefore, it can form four covalent bonds with other atoms or molecules. The simplest organic carbon molecule is methane (CH4), in which four hydrogen atoms bind to a carbon atom (Figure 1).

User Bucket
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