Carbon's abundance, its unique diversity of organic compounds, and its unusual ability to form polymers at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth enables this element to serve as a common element of all known life.
Den enorme mængde carbon, dets unikke mangfoldighed af organiske forbindelser og dets usædvanlige evne til at danne polymerer ved temperaturer, der normalt ses på Jorden, gør, at dette element indgår i alle kendte livsformer.