Why is the bond between two single hydrogen atoms stable?
A. Each hydrogen has 4 electrons to share for a total of 8 when 2 hydrogens bond.
B. Each hydrogen donates more electrons in their lower energy shells to get to & but only to other hydrogen atoma.
C. It is not stable, each hydrogen only has 1 electron and they need & electrons to be stable.
D. Hydrogen only uses the first energy shell, which holds 2 electrons, not 8.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is D. Hydrogen only uses the first energy shell, which holds 2 electrons, not 8.
Here’s why:
Hydrogen atoms have only one proton and one electron, which means their electron configuration fills only the first energy shell. The first energy shell can hold a maximum of two electrons. To achieve stability, atoms typically seek to fill their outer electron shells. For hydrogen, this means it needs just two electrons to be stable, which is a full shell. When two hydrogen atoms bond, they share their single electrons with each other, forming a covalent bond.
In this bonding process, each hydrogen atom essentially shares its one electron with the other, so that both hydrogen atoms now have two electrons in their valence (outermost) shell. This shared electron arrangement gives each hydrogen atom the electron configuration of helium, which is a stable, noble gas configuration with a full shell of two electrons. This is why the bond between two hydrogen atoms is stable, despite hydrogen not having eight electrons like the noble gases.
It’s important to note that hydrogen does not require eight electrons to be stable (unlike elements in periods 2 and beyond, which follow the octet rule). Hydrogen follows the duet rule, which simply means it achieves stability with two electrons in its valence shell, making the H-H bond a stable and common molecular structure.