Give a comparative account of the chemistry of carbon and silicon with regard to their (i) property of catenation and (ii) stability of hydrides and oxides .

Explanation

(i) Carbon shows property of catenation to a greater extent than silicon due to its small size and tendency to form pp -pp multiple bonds with itself.
Stability of hydrides : `CH_(4)` is more stable than `SiH_(4)` due to the small size of C.
`CO_(2)` is gas whereas `SiO_(2)` is a three dimensional covalent solid therefore highly stable as compared to `CO_(2)` .