1. Using their valence electrons, build the Covalent Bonds below:

Question

a. Nitrogen + Bromine
d. 2 Bromine
b. Sulfur + Hydrogen e. Chlorine + Iodine
c. Fluorine + Phosphorus
f. Oxygen + Carbon

Answer 1

To understand covalent bonding and how to build covalent bonds between different elements, we recognize that covalent bonds form when two atoms share pairs of valence electrons. Below, I will break down the bonds formed between each specified pair of elements:

a. Nitrogen + Bromine

• Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons.

• Bromine (Br) has 7 valence electrons.

• Nitrogen can form one triple bond with another nitrogen atom or three single bonds with other atoms. In this case, it can share one of its electrons with one of bromine’s electrons to form one single bond (1 pair), and the remaining six valence electrons will remain around bromine.

  Bonding:

  • N (5) : ••N••
  • Br (7) : ••Br••

b. Sulfur + Hydrogen

• Sulfur (S) has 6 valence electrons.

• Hydrogen (H) has 1 valence electron.

• Each hydrogen atom can form one single bond with sulfur. Sulfur can bond with two hydrogen atoms to satisfy its octet rule by sharing one electron from each hydrogen.

  Bonding:

  • S (6) : ••S••
  • H (1) : •H , H

c. Fluorine + Phosphorus

• Fluorine (F) has 7 valence electrons.

• Phosphorus (P) has 5 valence electrons.

• Phosphorus can share three electrons with three fluorine atoms to form three single bonds while phosphorous retains its remaining two.

  Bonding:

  • P (5): ••P••
  • F (7): ••F •••, 3 times

d. 2 Bromine

• Since there are two bromine (Br) atoms, they can share electrons to form a single bond between themselves.

  Bonding:

  • Br (7): ••Br•• , creates a bond with another Br
  • Br (7): ••Br••

e. Chlorine + Iodine

• Chlorine (Cl) has 7 valence electrons.

• Iodine (I) has 7 valence electrons.

• Chlorine and iodine can share one pair of electrons to form a single bond.

  Bonding:

  • Cl (7): ••Cl••
  • I (7): ••I••

f. Oxygen + Carbon

• Oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons.

• Carbon (C) has 4 valence electrons.

• Oxygen can share two pairs of electrons with carbon, forming a double bond (2 pairs).

  Bonding:

  • O (6): ••O••
  • C (4): ••C••

To diagrammatically represent them:

• The shared pairs are represented as lines or dots between the atoms.

Overall, bond formation involves sharing of their unpaired electrons leading to stable electron configurations for both atoms involved.