How many electron pairs are shared in a triple covalent bond?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Diagram showing the formation of a polar covalent bond in a water molecule, with two hydrogen atoms bonding to one oxygen atom to form H2O, illustrating shared electrons and chemical reaction. — covalent bond In polar covalent bonds, such as that between hydrogen and oxygen atoms, the electrons are not transferred from one atom to the other as they are in an ionic bond. Instead, some outer electrons merely spend more time in the vicinity of the other atom. The effect of this orbital distortion is to induce regional net charges that hold the atoms together, such as in water molecules.

In a triple covalent bond, two atoms share three pairs of electrons.21

This configuration consists of one sigma bond and two pi bonds. Common examples of molecules containing triple bonds include nitrogen ( $N_{2}$ ) and acetylene ( $C_{2} H_{2}$ ).21