DefinitionQuestion 1 · Recall
Loading…
By the end you can define a covalent bond and describe the bonding in , , , , and , counting shared pairs and lone pairs.
Two chlorine atoms each want one more electron. Neither is going to hand one over: they attract electrons equally strongly.
So they compromise. Each puts one electron into a shared pair that sits between them, and both get to count it.
Covalent bond
The electrostatic attraction between the nuclei of two atoms and a shared pair of electrons.
Put a steel ball between two magnets. Each magnet pulls on the ball, so the ball holds the magnets together.
The two positive nuclei are the magnets and the shared pair is the ball. Where it breaks down: electrons aren't a tiny ball parked in one spot. The pair is a cloud of negative charge concentrated between the nuclei.
Each hydrogen atom has one electron. Its first shell is full with two.
Share one pair and each H atom now has 2 electrons in its shell, like helium. That one shared pair is a single covalent bond, drawn as a line: .