Bonding Rules

 

Group # in the Periodic Table
1
4
5
6
7
8
Representative atom
H
C
N
O
F
Ne
# of electrons in the valence shell = Group #
1
4
5
6
7
8
# of electrons needed to fill the valence shell = (2 or 8) - Group #
2 -1 = 1
8 - 4 = 4
8 - 5 = 3
8 - 6 = 2
8 - 7 = 1
8 - 8 = 0
# of covalent bonds this atom forms 
1
4
3
2
1
0
# of non-bonding electron pairs = [Group # - # Bonds]/2
 0
0
1
2
3
4
Example
H-H
Valence Shell Electron Configuration
1s2
2s22p6
2s22p6
2s22p6
2s22p6
2s22p6

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