How many electrons form a covalent bond?

1 Answer
David G.
Jun 19, 2017

A covalent bond can be thought of as a 'shared pair' of electrons, so there are 2 electrons in each bond. That means that a double bond will have 4 electrons in the space between the bonded nuclei, and a triple bond will have 6.

Explanation:

Both #CH_4# and #H_2O# have only single bonds, so each bond has 2 electrons.

#CO_2# has the carbon in the middle and a double bond to an oxygen on each side. Each of those double bonds will contain 4 electrons.

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