Covalent Bonds and unpaired electrons

[305339018]

Why is it that the number of covalent bonds anatomical can form is the same as the number unpaired electrons in its valence shells?

[Aadil Rehan 1D]

Good observation! It's usually because that number of bonds fills all the valence shells.

Let's take Carbon as an example. It's 1s² 2s² 2p². It "wants" 4 electrons to fill its outer valence shell, but it's not electronegative enough to form ionic bonds. It can get those electrons, however, by sharing them with other atoms. It can thus form 4 bonds to complete its octet.

[Ryan Yee 1J]

Covalent bonds are similar to sharing of electrons, so when atoms share the the correct amount of electrons with another atom, they also technically get the same amount in return. So, triple bonded nitrogen shares three of their existing electrons with one another, and both can fulfill their octet. But, atoms can only form up to a triple bond, so carbon cannot form a quadruple bond even though it has 4 unpaired electrons.