Question
Use the periodic table to complete the activity.
Periodic table showing electronegativity of elements, increasing left to right and bottom to topPeriodic table showing electronegativity of elements, increasing left to right and bottom to top.
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.
Periodic table showing electronegativity of elements, increasing left to right and bottom to topPeriodic table showing electronegativity of elements, increasing left to right and bottom to top.
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.
Answers
GPT-5 mini
Carbon (EN ≈ 2.5) and hydrogen (EN ≈ 2.1) have a very small electronegativity difference (~0.4), so the C–H bonds in methane are covalent (essentially nonpolar covalent). Carbon has four valence electrons (2s2 2p2) and needs four more to fill its octet, while each hydrogen has one electron and needs one more to fill its duet. By sharing one electron with each hydrogen, carbon forms four single covalent bonds, giving carbon an octet and each hydrogen a full outer shell.