Why carbon share electrons rather than gain or lose

Dear student
Carbon (atomic number: 6) has an electronic configuration 2, 4. This means that carbon contains two electrons in K shell and 4 electrons in L shell (outermost shell). Hence, it has four electrons in its valence shell.

Since carbon has four electrons in its valence shell, it needs four more electrons to complete its octet. Therefore, it is a tetravalent element.

 

 

 

In order to complete its octet i.e., to attain its noble gas configuration and to stabilize itself, carbon can:

 Either lose four electrons to form C⁴⁺ or gain four electrons to form C^4- . This, however, requires a lot of energy and would make the system unstable.

 Therefore, carbon completes its octet by sharing its four electrons with the other carbon atoms or with atoms of other elements.

Carbon has four valence electrons and needs four more electrons to complete its octet. Therefore, it is capable of bonding with four other atoms of any element having a valency of 1.

Regards