When two hydrogen atoms are brought closer together, which of the following occurs?

• A. They lose electrons and form ionic bonds.
• B. They combine to form a metallic bond.
• C. Their atomic orbitals overlap, allowing them to share electrons and form a covalent bond.
• D. They repel each other due to the attraction between their nuclei.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the nature of hydrogen atoms: Each hydrogen atom has one electron in its 1s atomic orbital.
2. Recall that when two hydrogen atoms approach each other, their atomic orbitals can overlap, which allows the electrons to be shared between the two nuclei.
3. Recognize that sharing electrons between atoms leads to the formation of a covalent bond, which is a bond formed by the mutual sharing of electron pairs.
4. Note that ionic bonds involve the transfer of electrons, which does not occur between two hydrogen atoms because they have similar electronegativities and prefer to share electrons rather than transfer them.
5. Understand that metallic bonds occur between metal atoms, and repulsion due to nuclei is overcome by the attraction of shared electrons in a covalent bond, so the correct description is the formation of a covalent bond through orbital overlap.