A hydrogen atom has one electron. How many covalent bonds can hydrogen form?

• A. Three
• B. One
• C. Two
• D. Four

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall that a covalent bond involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms to achieve a full outer shell of electrons, typically following the octet rule for most atoms.
2. Consider the electron configuration of a hydrogen atom, which has only one electron in its 1s orbital.
3. Since hydrogen needs only one more electron to fill its outer shell (which is the 1s orbital, holding a maximum of two electrons), it can form one covalent bond by sharing one electron with another atom.
4. Recognize that hydrogen cannot form more than one covalent bond because it has only one electron to share and only one available orbital for bonding.
5. Therefore, the number of covalent bonds hydrogen can form is one.