20191015 ensp 0183 enspCarbon from Latin carbo quotcoal quot is a chemical element with the 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 13 Three isotopes occur naturally 12C and 13C being stable while 14C is a radionuclide decaying