Covalent bonding

• What is covalent bonding?


  Sharing of electrons between non-metal atoms.
• Why are covalent bonds strong?


  Positively charged nuclei are attracted to the shared pairs of electrons by electrostatic forces.
• Where do the atoms share their electrons?


  In the outer shell.
• How many extra electrons does each covalent bond share?


  One.
• Each atom involved generally makes enough covalent bonds to fill up it’s outer shell, so it is stable.
• How can you draw a covalent bond?


  Dot and cross diagram.
• In a dot and cross diagram, where are the shared electrons shown?


  In the overlap between circles.
• You can also draw a covalent bond as a symbol with lines coming off.