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Carbon dioxide, CO₂, is a covalently bonded molecule - OCR Gateway - GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science - Question 15 - 2021 - Paper 9
Question 15
Carbon dioxide, CO₂, is a covalently bonded molecule. (a) Explain what is meant by a covalent bond. (b) Look at the diagram. It shows the structure of carbon dio... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Carbon dioxide, CO₂, is a covalently bonded molecule - OCR Gateway - GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science - Question 15 - 2021 - Paper 9
Step 1
Explain what is meant by a covalent bond.
Answer
A covalent bond is a type of chemical bond where two atoms share pairs of electrons. This sharing allows each atom to attain the electron configuration of a noble gas, achieving stability. The strength of the covalent bond arises from the attractive force between the positively charged nuclei of the atoms and the negatively charged shared electrons.
Step 2
Complete the dot and cross diagram for carbon dioxide.
Answer
The dot and cross diagram for carbon dioxide (CO₂) shows the sharing of electrons between the carbon atom (C) and the two oxygen atoms (O). Each oxygen atom will have six electrons in its outer shell, and the carbon atom will have four, thus:
O O
• •
•O-C-O•
• •
Here, the dots represent the electrons from the oxygen atoms, while the crosses represent the electrons from the carbon atom, illustrating that each oxygen shares one pair of electrons with carbon.