Covalent Bonding

• Covalent bonding is when two non-metal atoms share electrons. This completes one or more of an atoms outer shell
• When non-metal atoms combine together they form covalent bonds by sharing pairs of electrons
• Each covalent bond provides one extra shared electron for each atom
• Covalent bonds are strong because theres a strong electrostatic attraction between the positive nuclei and the negative electrons in each shared pair
• Usually each atom involved makes enough covalent bonds to fill up its outer shell
• In covalent bonds, the atom shares the same amount of electrons that it needs to gain