Covalent Bonds (GCSE Chemistry)
Covalent Bonds
Covalent Bonding
Covalent bonds involve the sharing of electrons, often between two non-metals. Covalent bonds can occur between atoms of the same element (e.g. Cl2) or atoms of different elements (e.g. NO).
Characteristics of Covalent Bonds
- Why do atoms form covalent bonds? Atoms share electrons to gain a full outer shell of electrons. Remember they want to gain a full outer shell as this is when the atom is most stable and inert.
- A single covalent bond contains a shared pair of electrons. Each single covalent bond involves two electrons which makes up the shared pair of electrons between two atoms. Each atom donates one electron to the covalent bond, forming an electron pair. Therefore each atom gets an ‘extra electron’ in effect – i.e. the electron pair in the covalent bond has one new electron from the other atom, plus the existing electron the atom already had, so there is one new electron.
- A covalent bond forms between atoms that are non-metals. The main form of bonding between non-metals is covalent bonds, whereby non-metals share electrons in a bond. Remember, non-metals want to gain electrons to make a full outer shell, so covalent bonding enables them to share electrons and reach a full outer shell.
- Covalent bonds are very strong. In the covalent bond, there is a strong electrostatic attraction between the positive nuclei of each atom, and the negative shared pair of electrons. The electrostatic attraction holds the two atoms in the covalent bond together.
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