Which statement about covalent bonding is accurate?

Which statement about covalent bonding is accurate?

• A. Covalent bonds occur between metals.
• B. Covalent bonds occur between metals and nonmetals.
• C. Covalent bonds occur in ionic solids.
• D. Covalent bonds involve sharing electrons between nonmetal atoms.

Answer: (D)

Covalent bonding is about sharing electrons to fill the valence shells of atoms. This sharing happens mainly between nonmetal atoms that have similar electronegativities, so neither atom completely donates or accepts electrons. Because of this, electrons are shared in bonds like those in H2, O2, and H2O, creating molecules rather than a lattice of ions. In contrast, metals tend to form metallic bonds with a sea of delocalized electrons, and metals plus nonmetals often form ionic bonds where electrons are transferred and ions are held together by electrostatic attraction. Ionic solids are held together by these strong ion–ion forces, not by shared electrons. So the accurate statement is that covalent bonds involve sharing electrons between nonmetal atoms.

Covalent bonding is about sharing electrons to fill the valence shells of atoms. This sharing happens mainly between nonmetal atoms that have similar electronegativities, so neither atom completely donates or accepts electrons. Because of this, electrons are shared in bonds like those in H2, O2, and H2O, creating molecules rather than a lattice of ions. In contrast, metals tend to form metallic bonds with a sea of delocalized electrons, and metals plus nonmetals often form ionic bonds where electrons are transferred and ions are held together by electrostatic attraction. Ionic solids are held together by these strong ion–ion forces, not by shared electrons. So the accurate statement is that covalent bonds involve sharing electrons between nonmetal atoms.