What best describes covalent bonding in simple terms?

• A. Sharing of a pair of electrons between atoms
• B. Complete transfer of electrons to form ions
• C. A crystal lattice of charged particles
• D. Delocalized electrons in a metal lattice

Answer: (A)

Covalent bonding is the sharing of electrons between atoms to fill their outer shells. When two atoms share a pair of electrons, each atom gains access to those electrons, and the mutual attraction to both nuclei holds the atoms together as a molecule. A single shared pair gives one bond, and more pairs can form double or triple bonds in other cases.

This differs from transferring electrons to form ions, which describes ionic bonding and yields a lattice of charged ions. It also differs from the metallic situation, where electrons are delocalized and move freely in a metal structure rather than being shared between just two atoms.