Carbon Carbon Carbon (from "coal") is a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Three isotopes occur naturally, C and C being stable, while C is a radionuclide, decaying with a half-life of about 5,730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity. Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. Carbon's abundance, its unique
Period 5 element Like the other halogens, free iodine occurs mainly as a diatomic molecule I, and then only momentarily after being oxidized from iodide by an oxidant like free oxygen. In the universe and on Earth, iodine's high atomic number makes it a relatively rare element. However, its presence in ocean water has given it a role in biology (see below). Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. A colorless, heavy, odorless noble gas, xenon occurs in the Earth's atmospherein trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, xenon can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the formation