Question

Enter the number of covalent bonds that are typically made by each atom


Hydrogen _____ bonds
carbon _______ bonds
Nitrogen ______ bonds
Oxygen ______ bonds
Sulfur ________ bonds
Fluorine ______ bonds

Answer 1

The number of covalent bonds is dictated by the number of unpaired electrons in the outermost shell of each atom.

Hydrogen has one impaired electron so it can form one covalent bond. For similar reasons:

C - 4
N - 3
O - 2
S - 2
F - 1