In the covalent bond formation process orbitals from each atom overlap and electrons are shared between each atom. You can visualize the 1s atomic orbital of one hydrogen atom overlapping with the 1s orbital of the other hydrogen atom to form an HâH covalent bond. Each hydrogen atom in the H2 molecule has the electron configuration analogous to that of the He atom. Similarly, when 2p orbitals of two fluorine atoms overlap they share one electron each. The total number of electrons in each F atom is nine. Each F atom shares one electron with the other F atom, and thus the total number of electrons in each F atom in the F2 molecule is 10. Therefore, each F atom in the F2 molecule has the electron configuration analogous to that of Ne.

The atomic orbitals of two iodine atoms combine to form the diatomic I2 molecule. Use the periodic table to determine the atomic orbitals that overlap to form the I2 molecule and the symbol of the noble gas that has the same electron configuration as the electron configuration of each bonded iodine atom.

For example, the 2p atomic orbitals of fluorine atoms overlap to form the F2 molecule. The noble gas that has the same electron configuration as that of each bonded fluorine atom is Ne. To enter the atomic orbitals that overlap and the corresponding noble gas, you would enter 2p,Ne.

Enter the symbol for the orbitals that overlap and the chemical symbol of the noble gas separated by a comma. For example, for H2 enter 1s, He.