Carbon of interconnecting carbon–carbon bonds, a property that is called catenation. Carbon-carbon bonds are strong and stable. Through catenation, carbon forms a countless number of compounds. A tally of unique compounds shows that more contain carbon that those that do not. A similar claim can be made for hydrogen because most organic compounds also contain hydrogen. The simplest form of an organic molecule is the hydrocarbon—a large family of organic molecules that are composed of hydrogen atoms bonded to a chain of carbon atoms. A hydrocarbon backbone can be substituted by other atoms, known as heteroatoms. Common heteroatoms that appear in
Law of multiple proportions Law of multiple proportions In chemistry, the law of multiple proportions is one of the basic laws of stoichiometry used to establish the atomic theory, alongside the law of conservation of mass (matter) and the law of definite proportions. It is sometimes called Dalton's Law after its discoverer, the British chemist John Dalton, who published it in the first part of the first volume of his "New System of Chemical Philosophy" (1808). Here is the statement of the law: For example, Dalton knew that the element carbon forms two oxides by combining with oxygen in different proportions. A fixed mass