Covalent Bonding

A covalent bonding occurs when electrons are shared between nonmetal atoms. Sharing of
electrons ensures that the atoms achieve stability in their outer shell which is similar to the
atoms of noble gases.

The atoms of nonmetal elements tend to share their electrons with the atoms of other elements
or with other atoms of the same element in a way that both the atoms have a full outer shell and
thus achieve stability. This sharing of electrons among different or same kinds is known as
Covalent Bond.
● Sharing of electrons between atoms of the same element E.g. Formation of H2, Cl2, O2,
etc.
● Sharing of electrons between atoms of different kinds E.g. Formation of CH4, H2O, NH3,
etc.

The electrons are shared in pairs where each atom contributes 1 electron to form the bond and
is called a bonding pair. The covalent bonds are also called molecular bonds as they form
molecules. Molecules are formed when 2 or more atoms bond together to form groups of atoms.

The bonding electrons are held securely between the

two atoms as the electrons (which are negatively
charged) are attracted by the nucleus of BOTH atoms
(which are positively charged).

The 2 outer electron shells of the atoms overlap so that

the electrons are seen to contribute to the full octet or
full outer shell of the atom.
Types of Covalent Bonds
Depending upon the number of shared electron pairs, the covalent bond can be classified into:

● Single Covalent Bond

● Double Covalent Bond
● Triple Covalent Bond

Single Bonds
A single bond is formed when only one pair of the electron is shared between the two
participating atoms. It is represented by one dash (-). For example, a HCl has one hydrogen
atom bonded to one chlorine atom with seven valence electrons. In this case, a single bond is
formed between hydrogen and chlorine by sharing one electron.

Double Bonds

A double bond is formed when two pairs of electrons are shared between the two atoms. It is
represented by two dashes (=). Double covalent bonds are much stronger than a single bond,
but they are less stable.

Example: Carbon dioxide molecule has one

carbon atom with six valence electrons and
two oxygen atoms with four valence
electrons.

Carbon shares two of its valence electrons

with one oxygen atom and two with another
oxygen atom. Each oxygen atom shares its
two electrons with carbon and therefore there
are two double bonds in CO2.

Another example is the oxygen molecule: Each oxygen atom has six electrons in their valence
shell. Each atom requires two more electrons to complete their octet. Therefore the atoms share
two electrons each to form the oxygen molecule. Since two electron pairs are shared there is a
double bond between the two oxygen atoms.
Triple Bond
A triple bond is formed when three pairs of electrons are shared between the two atoms.
Triple covalent bonds are represented by three dashes (≡) and are the least stable types of
covalent bonds.

For Example: In the formation of a nitrogen molecule, each nitrogen atoms having five valence
electrons provides three electrons to form three electron pairs for sharing. Thus, a triple bond is
formed between the two nitrogen atoms.

Dot and Cross Diagrams are used to simply represent bonding between atoms for simple
molecules.

● The outer shell of each atom is drawn as a circle

● The shells or circles overlap where there is a covalent bond
● The electrons from one atom are drawn as dots, and electrons from another atom as
crosses
● Double headed arrows are put in to identify the electrons that are sharing

Exercise:
Draw dot and cross diagrams to represent covalent bonding seen between the following atoms:
1. Fluorine atoms
2. Bromine and hydrogen atoms
3. Hydrogen and sulphur atoms
4. Silicon and chlorine atoms
5. 2 carbon atoms with 4 hydrogen atoms (yes I wrote it correct… its called ethene)