What happened to the outer electrons of H and O to form water?
To understand what happened to the outer electrons of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) to form water, we need to look at the electron configuration of these elements.
Hydrogen has one electron, which occupies the 1s orbital. Oxygen has eight electrons, with two electrons occupying the 1s orbital, two electrons in the 2s orbital, and four electrons in the 2p orbital.
When hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water (H2O), they share electrons through a covalent bond. Covalent bonding occurs when atoms share electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration.
In the case of water, each hydrogen atom shares one electron with oxygen. This results in each hydrogen atom having two electrons around it, completing their first energy level (1s^2). Oxygen, on the other hand, gains two additional electrons and now has a total of eight electrons around it, satisfying the octet rule (2 in 1s, 2 in 2s, and 4 in 2p orbitals).
So, the outer electron of hydrogen is shared with oxygen, and oxygen gains electrons to complete its valence shell in the formation of water.