Importance of carbon

Carbon is the basic element of organic compounds.Due to its unique properties, carbon occupies the central position in the skeleton of life.Some of its properties are as follow;                                                         1 :Carbon is tetravalent.                         2 :It can react with many other known elements forming covalent bonds.                                                         3 : When a carbon atom combines with four atoms or radicals, the four bonds are arranged symmetrically in a tetrahedron, and result to give a stable configuration.                               4 :Carbon atom can also combine mutually forming stable, branched or unbranched chains or rings.                 5 : The vast variety of organic compounds C-C bonds form a skeleton of organic molecules.

As show  in above fig carbon can make bonds with other carbon or other atoms to form chain, ringed, and branched chain structures.