Question

The correct lewis structure for COH2 contains how many covalent bonds?

Answer 1

Answer:

Four covalent bonds.

Explanation:

Hello,

In this case, given the attached picture in which you can find the Lewis dot structure for metanal (formaldehyde) we can see two C-H bonds and two C-O bonds via a double bond, thus, we can compute the type of each bond given the electronegativities of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen which are 2.1, 2.5 and 3.5 respectively:

$C-H=2.5-2.1=0.4\\C-O=3.5-2.5=1.0$

Thus, since both electronegativity difference are less 1.7 we infer that all of them are covalent, therefore, it has four covalent bonds, two C-H bonds and a double C-O bond.

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