the 4 electrons in the carbon's outer shell is the valence electron of that atom. valence electron signify the number of bonds that the atom can accomodate. usually the atom tends to be stable and follow the octet rule, meaning, that the valence shell, which composed of the valence electrons, can only ocupy 8 eletron to be stable. in the case of carbon it needs 4 more electrons in order to complete the octet rule. it means that carbon need 4 more bonds atmost.
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