Question
Methane (CH4
) is a gas that is found in small quantities in Earth’s atmosphere. Are the bonds in methane ionic or covalent according to their electronegativities, and how can one carbon atom bond with four hydrogen atoms based on their valence electrons? In three to five sentences, explain your answer.
(4 points)
) is a gas that is found in small quantities in Earth’s atmosphere. Are the bonds in methane ionic or covalent according to their electronegativities, and how can one carbon atom bond with four hydrogen atoms based on their valence electrons? In three to five sentences, explain your answer.
(4 points)
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The bonds in methane (CH₄) are covalent, as the electronegativity difference between carbon (2.55) and hydrogen (2.20) is not significant enough to form ionic bonds. In methane, one carbon atom shares its four valence electrons with four hydrogen atoms, each contributing one valence electron. This sharing allows carbon to achieve a stable configuration, resembling the noble gas neon, by filling its outer shell with a total of eight electrons through these four covalent bonds. Therefore, all four hydrogen atoms bond with the carbon atom through shared pairs of electrons, resulting in a stable molecular structure.