COVALENCY Meaning and
Definition
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Covalency is a term used in chemistry to describe the bonding between atoms in a molecule where electrons are shared. It refers to the number of shared electron pairs between atoms. Covalent bonds occur when two or more atoms share pairs of electrons in order to achieve a more stable electron configuration. These bonds are formed between nonmetal atoms, as metals tend to lose electrons and form ionic bonds.
In a covalent bond, each atom contributes one or more electrons to the shared pair, creating a covalent pair. The number of covalent pairs formed determines the covalency of an atom. It can be thought of as the number of bonds that an atom forms with other atoms in a molecule. For example, carbon has a covalency of four because it can form four bonds, while oxygen has a covalency of two because it can form two bonds.
Covalency is an important concept in understanding molecular structure and chemical reactivity. It helps to determine the shapes of molecules and influences their physical and chemical properties. For example, the covalency of an atom can affect its polarity, which in turn affects how it interacts with other molecules.
Overall, covalency is a measure of the shared electron pairs between atoms, giving insight into the nature of chemical bonding and the behavior of molecules.
Common Misspellings for COVALENCY
- xovalency
- vovalency
- fovalency
- dovalency
- civalency
- ckvalency
- clvalency
- cpvalency
- c0valency
- c9valency
- cocalency
- cobalency
- cogalency
- cofalency
- covzlency
- covslency
- covwlency
- covqlency
- covakency
Etymology of COVALENCY
The word "covalency" is derived from the combination of two words: "covalent" and "ency".
The term "covalent" originates from the Latin word "co-" meaning "together" and "valentia" meaning "strength". It was first used in the early 20th century to describe a type of chemical bonding characterized by the sharing of electron pairs between atoms.
The suffix "-ency" is derived from the Latin suffix "-entia" and the French "-ence", both of which indicate a quality or state of being. This suffix is commonly used to form nouns from adjectives or verbs. In the case of "covalency", the "-ency" is added to the adjective "covalent" to create a noun that signifies the quality or state of having covalent bonds.
Similar spelling words for COVALENCY
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