12. biology is the study of living things. carbon is the element that makes life possible. why is carbon so special that it is required for life? [] it is a positively charged ion needed in reactions. [] it has 4 valence electrons, so it can make 4 strong bonds with other atoms. [] it is a polar molecule, which makes it have a high heat capacity. [] because it has 4 valence electrons, it is small and only makes small compounds.