What are covalent bonds and why are they important

                              Covalent bonds

A covalent bond also known as molecular bound is when two nonmetals share electrons. The bonding starts forms when the electrostatic attraction of their nuclei are aiming for the same electrons. Atoms will share electrons with other atoms to be stable,  stability is gained by filling their electron shell, and each shell except for the first one needs 8 electrons to have a full shell. For example, Co2, carbon bonds covalently with 2 oxygen to have a full outer shell, oxygen needs 2 electrons to have a full outer shell and carbon, and carbon needs 4 more electrons for a full outer shell, so its going to bond with the oxygen and both elements will be stable. Due to the sharing of electrons, they show physical properties that include lower melting points and lower electrical conductivity compared to ionic compounds. There are two important types of covalent bond, polar and nonpolar bonds. Nonpolar bond happens when two atoms equivalently share electrons, so basically, they share only when their electronegativity difference is less than 0.4, this bond only occurs in diatomic elements. For the polar bonds, the electronegativity needs to be between 0.4 and 1.7, so basically in a polar bonds the atoms are not shared equally, because one atom has a higher electronegativity then the one he is sharing with, the atom with the higher electronegativity will pull the atom closer, as a result the atoms will be closer to the highest electronegativity atom, which makes it unequally shared. Covalent bond is useful, mainly because they are much more common in the molecules of living organisms, they're commonly found in carbon-based molecules like DNA and proteins. It is also important because the water molecule is held together by a covalent bond, and water is important to the survival of all living things on earth. Covalent bonds allow molecules to share to share electrons with other molecules, which is important to create long chains of the molecule, to create more complexity in life. Covalent have a  strong bond, which means they cannot be broken down under normal biological conditions. So basically, most of what we consume are made of covalently bonded compounds, Petroleum, plastic, food, wood, the oxygen we breathe is in the form of covalently bonded O2 molecules, they're important to all living things. 








Citations in MLA


Helmenstine, Anne Marie, and Helmenstine. “A Covalent Bond in Chemistry Is a Link Between Two Atoms or Ions.” ThoughtCo, N/A, 0AD, N/A, www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-covalent-bond-604414.

Libretexts. “Covalent Bonds.” Chemistry LibreTexts, Libretexts, 21 July 2016, chem.libretexts.org/Textbook_Maps/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Chemical_Bonding/Fundamentals_of_Chemical_Bonding/Covalent_Bonds.

Libretexts. “Ionic and Covalent Bonds.” Chemistry LibreTexts, Libretexts, 28 Feb. 2018, chem.libretexts.org/Textbook_Maps/Organic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Organic_Chemistry)/Fundamentals/Ionic_and_Covalent_Bonds.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Covalent Bond.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/covalent-bond.