A ___________bond is a bond between two non-metals.
Select one: a. ionic b. hydrogen c. covalent d. metallic
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is c. covalent.
A covalent bond is formed when two non-metal atoms share electrons in order to achieve a stable electron configuration, often aiming to complete their valence electron shells. This bond occurs because non-metals generally have similar electronegativities, meaning neither atom has a strong tendency to gain or lose electrons. Instead, they both attract electrons in the bond, leading to shared pairs of electrons that bind the two atoms together.
For example, in a molecule like H2O (water), the oxygen atom shares electrons with two hydrogen atoms to form covalent bonds. This sharing allows each atom to achieve a stable electron configuration, where hydrogen reaches the electron configuration of helium (2 electrons in the outer shell), and oxygen reaches the configuration of neon (8 electrons in the outer shell).
Covalent bonds can be classified into two types: nonpolar and polar. In a nonpolar covalent bond, the electrons are shared equally because both atoms have the same electronegativity. In a polar covalent bond, the electrons are shared unequally, with one atom attracting the electrons more strongly than the other, resulting in a slight charge difference across the molecule.
Covalent bonds are crucial in organic chemistry, where they form the backbone of most biomolecules, such as proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates. They are also essential in the formation of many simple molecules, like oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), and methane (CH4).
In contrast to covalent bonds, ionic bonds occur between a metal and a non-metal, where electrons are transferred from one atom to another, resulting in oppositely charged ions. Hydrogen bonds are weak interactions that occur between hydrogen and electronegative atoms like oxygen or nitrogen. Metallic bonds occur between metal atoms and involve a “sea of electrons” that move freely across the structure, giving metals their characteristic properties like conductivity.