Is the number of bonding pairs in a molecule equal to the number of electrons?

1 Answer
Feb 13, 2017

No.............for instance take the dioxygen molecule......

Explanation:

The dioxygen molecule, #O=O#, has 2 bonding pairs of electrons, and each atom has 2 lone pairs of electrons. The dinitrogen molecule, #N-=N#, has 3 bonding pairs of electrons, and each atom has 1 lone pairs of electrons. The difluorine molecule, #F-F#, has the 1 bonding pair of electrons, and each atom has 3 lone pairs of electrons.