What is a Hydrogen Molecule?
Hydrogen is a non-metal.
Hydrogen has only one
electron.
Two hydrogen atoms will each
share their one
electron
to form a covalent bond and make a hydrogen molecule (H2).
This is a picture of a hydrogen molecule.
By sharing the two electrons where the shells touch
each hydrogen atom can count 2 electrons in its outer shell.
These full outer
shells with their shared electrons are now stable,
and the H2 molecule will not
react further with other hydrogen
atoms.
The pair of shared
electrons between the two hydrogen
atoms
form a single
covalent bond.
The structural formula of a hydrogen molecule is written
There are no ions present (no + or - charges) in hydrogen
gas
because
the electrons are shared, not
transferred from one atom to
another.
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