Class 10 Science Chapter 4, Carbon and its Compounds, introduces organic chemistry through covalent bonding in carbon ($\text{Z}=6$, electronic configuration $2,4$), catenation and tetravalency, homologous series, nomenclature, chemical reactions of carbon compounds, ethanol, ethanoic acid, and the cleansing action of soaps and detergents.
What Class 10 Science Chapter 4 Covers
4.1 & 4.2 Bonding in Carbon & Versatile Nature of Carbon explains why carbon neither forms $\text{C}^{4-}$ nor $\text{C}^{4+}$ ions but shares valence electrons to form single, double and triple covalent bonds ($\text{H}_2$, $\text{O}_2$, $\text{N}_2$, $\text{CH}_4$), compares diamond, graphite and Buckminsterfullerene ($\text{C}_{60}$), and covers saturated vs unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkanes $\text{C}_n\text{H}_{2n+2}$, alkenes $\text{C}_n\text{H}_{2n}$, alkynes $\text{C}_n\text{H}_{2n-2}$), structural isomers (butane, pentane), functional groups (halo-, alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid) and homologous series differing by a $-\text{CH}_2-$ unit ($14\text{ u}$).
4.3 Chemical Properties of Carbon Compounds covers combustion (clean blue flame vs yellow sooty flame), oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids using alkaline $\text{KMnO}_4$ or acidified $\text{K}_2\text{Cr}_2\text{O}_7$, addition reaction (hydrogenation of vegetable oils using a nickel or palladium catalyst), and substitution reaction of saturated hydrocarbons with chlorine in sunlight.
4.4 & 4.5 Ethanol, Ethanoic Acid, Soaps and Detergents studies ethanol ($\text{CH}_3\text{CH}_2\text{OH}$, reaction with Na and dehydration with hot conc. $\text{H}_2\text{SO}_4$ at $443\text{ K}$ to ethene), ethanoic acid ($\text{CH}_3\text{COOH}$, glacial acetic acid, esterification and saponification, reaction with carbonates/hydrogencarbonates), and how soap molecules form micelles with a hydrophilic ionic head and hydrophobic hydrocarbon tail (and why detergents work even in hard water containing $\text{Ca}^{2+}$ and $\text{Mg}^{2+}$ ions).
Exercises in Chapter 4
- In-text Questions cover electron dot structures of $\text{CO}_2$, $\text{S}_8$ and cyclopentane, structural isomers of bromopentane, and how to distinguish experimentally between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid.
- Chapter Exercises (15 Questions) test covalent bond counting in ethane, functional group identification, hydrogenation and its industrial application, and explaining the mechanism of micelle formation in soap cleansing.
Read Class 10 Science Chapter 4 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 3: Metals and Non-metals
- Next: Chapter 5: Life Processes
- Hindi medium: Class 10 Science Chapter 4 PDF in Hindi (Vigyan)
- All Science chapters and the other Class 10 books: Class 10 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
FAQ
Why is carbon able to form a huge number of compounds?
Two properties account for carbon’s versatility: catenation (its ability to form strong covalent bonds with other carbon atoms in chains, branches and rings) and tetravalency (having a valency of four, bonding readily with H, O, N, S and halogens).
How do you chemically distinguish between ethanol and ethanoic acid?
Add sodium carbonate ($\text{Na}_2\text{CO}_3$) or sodium hydrogencarbonate ($\text{NaHCO}_3$). Ethanoic acid reacts with brisk effervescence releasing $\text{CO}_2$ gas, whereas ethanol does not react.