Chemistry › Section H · Advanced theories of covalent bonding › Topic H.1
Valence bond theory
Lewis structures tell you which atoms share electrons, and VSEPR predicts the shape, but neither says what a shared pair actually is. Valence bond theory answers that with orbitals: a covalent bond forms where orbitals from two atoms overlap and share a pair of electrons.
In this topic
- From dots to orbitals
- Bonds as overlapping orbitals
- Energy and distance
- Worked example: the energy of one bond
- Direction matters
- Sigma bonds
- Pi bonds
- Why π bonds are weaker
- Worked example: counting σ and π bonds
- Where simple overlap works, and where it fails
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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