Consider the following statements :
1. Maximum covalency of carbon is 4, whereas maximum covalency of silicon is 6.
2. The maximum covalency of an element is limited to 6.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Options

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

To solve the question regarding the maximum covalency of carbon and silicon, we need to analyze the statements provided.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Covalency**:
- Covalency refers to the number of bonds an atom can form with other atoms. It is determined by the number of valence electrons an atom has and how many of those electrons can be shared with other atoms.

2. **Analyzing Statement 1**:
- The first statement claims that the maximum covalency of carbon is 4, whereas the maximum covalency of silicon is 6.
- Carbon has 4 valence electrons (configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p²) and can form 4 covalent bonds (e.g., in methane, CH₄).
- Silicon, on the other hand, has 4 valence electrons as well (configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p²) but can expand its octet due to the availability of d-orbitals, allowing it to form 6 bonds (e.g., in silicon hexafluoride, SiF₆).
- Thus, Statement 1 is **correct**.

3. **Analyzing Statement 2**:
- The second statement claims that the maximum covalency of an element is limited to 6.
- While it is true that many elements (especially in the third period and beyond) can exhibit a maximum covalency of 6 due to the presence of d-orbitals, there are elements that can exceed this limit. For instance, elements like phosphorus can have a covalency of 10 in compounds like PCl₅.
- Therefore, Statement 2 is **incorrect**.

4. **Conclusion**:
- Based on the analysis, we conclude that only the first statement is correct.

### Final Answer:
- The correct statement is: **Only Statement 1 is correct**.