What does electronegativity describe in a covalent bond?

What does electronegativity describe in a covalent bond?

• A. An atom's energy to remove an electron
• B. An atom's ability to pull shared electrons toward itself in a covalent bond
• C. The tendency of an atom to lose electrons and form cations
• D. The distribution of electrons in a metal lattice

Answer: (B)

Electronegativity describes how strongly an atom attracts the electrons that are shared in a covalent bond. In a covalent bond, the two atoms share a pair of electrons, but the sharing is not always equal. The more electronegative atom pulls the shared electrons toward itself, giving it a partial negative charge while the other atom gains a partial positive charge. This creates bond polarity and helps explain why some bonds are nonpolar (similar electronegativities) and others are polar (large electronegativity differences). It’s different from the energy required to remove an electron (ionization energy) and from electron distribution in a metal lattice (metallic bonding). For example, in hydrogen fluoride, fluorine’s higher electronegativity pulls electron density toward itself, producing a partial negative charge on fluorine and a partial positive charge on hydrogen.

Electronegativity describes how strongly an atom attracts the electrons that are shared in a covalent bond. In a covalent bond, the two atoms share a pair of electrons, but the sharing is not always equal. The more electronegative atom pulls the shared electrons toward itself, giving it a partial negative charge while the other atom gains a partial positive charge. This creates bond polarity and helps explain why some bonds are nonpolar (similar electronegativities) and others are polar (large electronegativity differences). It’s different from the energy required to remove an electron (ionization energy) and from electron distribution in a metal lattice (metallic bonding). For example, in hydrogen fluoride, fluorine’s higher electronegativity pulls electron density toward itself, producing a partial negative charge on fluorine and a partial positive charge on hydrogen.