Chemical weathering over hundreds of thousands of years formed modern caves. One form of chemical weathering occurs when carbon dioxide reacts with water to produce carbonic acid, H2CO3. How many bonds formed in H2CO3?

Answer 1

In the molecular structure of carbonic acid (H2CO3), there are multiple bonds formed:

1. There are two single bonds between the carbon (C) atom and the two hydrogen (H) atoms.
2. There is one double bond between the carbon (C) atom and one oxygen (O) atom.
3. There is one single bond between the carbon (C) atom and the other oxygen (O) atom, which is also bonded to a hydrogen (H) atom.

To summarize:

• 2 single bonds (C-H)
• 1 double bond (C=O)
• 1 single bond (C-O)

In total, carbonic acid (H2CO3) has:

• 2 single C-H bonds
• 1 double C=O bond
• 1 single C-O bond

Thus, the number of bonds in H2CO3 is 2 (C-H) + 1 (C=O) + 1 (C-O) = 4 bonds (counting bond types individually leads to 4 bonds including the double bond).