A pale red and yellow rug,a blue shirt,a green jade figurine —what different color do you see when you look around?Most of the colors in our clothing and other items made by people come from dyes and pigments.Many parts of the natural world have stunning colors too.Flowers and animals come in a rainbow of shades.Gemstones are colorful too:jade is often green,rubies are usually red,amber is typically yellow,and amethyst is purple..

A carbon atom possesses four electrons in its outermost orbit. To reach stability, it therefore tends to form four covalent bonds. By sharing these four electrons, it acquires an additional four electrons from other atoms, completing its outermost shell with a total of eight electrons. Atoms that readily share electrons with carbon, thus forming bonds, include hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, halogens, and, naturally, other carbon atoms. These bonds are referred to as carbon-carbon bonds, carbon-hydrogen bonds, carbon-oxygen bonds, etc. (Note they are all covalent bonds.)