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.
In a hydrogen molecule (H₂), two hydrogen atoms bond by sharing their single electrons. Hydrogen has only one electron in its 1s orbital, which is the only energy shell it can use. The 1s orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons, so when two hydrogen atoms come together, they share their electrons to form a covalent bond. This sharing of electrons allows each hydrogen atom to “feel” like it has two electrons in its outer shell, satisfying its need for a full shell according to the duet rule, which states that hydrogen is most stable when it has two electrons in its valence shell.
Unlike most atoms, which follow the octet rule and seek to have eight electrons in their outer shell for stability, hydrogen is different because its first energy shell can only accommodate two electrons. As a result, a bond between two hydrogen atoms is stable because it allows each hydrogen to attain a stable configuration with two electrons. This is why the hydrogen molecule is stable despite only having two electrons in total shared between the atoms. The bond formed by the sharing of these electrons is strong enough to hold the atoms together in the molecule.
Thus, the stability of the bond between two hydrogen atoms is due to each hydrogen atom achieving the ideal electron configuration of two electrons in its outermost shell, making the molecule stable.