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There is really no other element that can substitute for carbon. Carbon is unique. There are other elements with four valance electrons, such as silicon, but silicon forms stronger bonds than carbon, therefore you do not get the same flexibility of compounds that can be changed relatively easily. Carbon dioxide is a gas, which is essential to photosynthesis, whereas silicon dioxide is a solid, with a very high melting point and a very low solubility in water, which does not form a part of biological processes. So silicon does not make a good substitute for carbon.

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13y ago

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