In edition 1 we talked about atoms bonding. But how do hydrogen oxygen, and carbon bond. The answer lies in something called valence electrons.
Basically, an atom has an outer shell of electrons. Take carbon for example. It has a 4 outer electrons. Or hydrogen. It has 1 outer electron. So, what does this have to do with atoms bonding? Well, just because they have outer electrons, doesn’t mean their happy with them. Carbon has 4(number it has)/8(number it wishes to have). And hydrogen has 1/2. So, to solve the problem, they share electrons. Carbon has 4/8, but it solves the problem by bonding with hydrogens. So, by bonding with four hydrogens, the carbon has 8/8, and each hydrogen has 2/2. This creates methane. This is important, because in later editions, I will talk about other types of bonds. Trust me there are more types of bonds. Many more…