How Many Electrons Are Shared in a Molecule of CO2?

A molecule of carbon dioxide (CO₂) involves the sharing of four electrons between the carbon and oxygen atoms.

Here’s how it works: In CO₂, the central carbon atom is bonded to two oxygen atoms. Carbon has four valence electrons, while each oxygen atom has six valence electrons. To achieve stability through the octet rule, each oxygen atom forms a double bond with the carbon atom.

This means that the carbon shares two electrons with one oxygen and two electrons with the other oxygen, resulting in a total of four shared electrons in the CO₂ molecule. So, when looking at it in terms of shared electrons, you can say that there are four shared electrons in carbon dioxide.