How many electrons are shared in the covalent bonds in a methane molecule? Why?
I will give two explanations: 1. The formula for methane is CH4. There are 8 total valence electrons – 1 each for the hydrogen atoms, and 4 for the carbon atom. There are four single bonds, and no lone electron pairs in the methane molecule. With 8 valence electrons and 4 single bonds, we get 8/4=2 electrons per bond. 2. The methane molecule contains four single, or sigma, bonds. Each sigma bond is formed between the 1s orbital of a hydrogen atom, which contains one electron, and one of the four hybrid sp3 orbitals of the carbon atom, each of which contains one electron. That gives us 2 electrons per bond.
