A carbon atom can form a bond with up to four oxygen atoms to create different molecules depending on the specific arrangement. One common example is carbon dioxide (CO2), where a carbon atom is bonded to two oxygen atoms.
In the case of carbon dioxide, carbon forms a double bond with each oxygen atom. A double bond consists of two pairs of electrons shared between the carbon atom and each oxygen atom, resulting in a total of four shared electrons. This allows carbon to satisfy its valence shell, which requires four electrons for stability.
The Lewis structure of carbon dioxide can be represented as follows:
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