Naming Molecular Compounds

To achieve stability, the hydrogen atom will search for another atom with which it can form a bond. Hydrogen, with its one electron, would be expected to gain another electron to fill its energy level. When hydrogen is in the presence of a metal, like potassium, that is what it does. Remember, metals are anxious to lose electrons to gain a stable octet. But, what if hydrogen is around other hydrogen atoms? Can each hydrogen atom gain an electron? The answer to this is no, but hydrogen must do something in order to bond. Hydrogen ends up sharing its valence electrons in order to obtain a stable electron configuration. The bond which is formed by shared pairs of electrons is called a covalent bond and substances with covalent bonds are called molecular compounds. In this topic, you will learn how electrons are shared and how molecular compounds are named.

Essential Question

• How are molecular compounds named?