pls help me with my chemistry work

[Night Fox]

"explain why compounds containing C-N (the little dash is actually like two or three times as long) and C-O single bonds can form coordinate covalent bonds with H⁺ but compounds containing only C-H and C-C single bonds can not"
I can't find it in the freakin textbook
and I don't think searching on google would help but I'm gonna try that too anyway (it didn't)

[Ad Bot]

[Doomonkey]

Coordinate covalent bonds are when one atom donates both electrons in a covalent bond. In order for this to occur, the atom must have a lone pair. Carbon does not fill its octet and have remaining lone pairs. Oxygen and Nitrogen do.

Oxygen will make two regular bonds to fill its octet,  and then have two pairs remaining to make coordinate covalent bonds because those do not add to its octet. Nitrogen will make three normal bonds and have one remaining lone pair. Carbon will make four normal bonds and be done.

[Night Fox]

oh, okay, thank you. my book doesn't seem to mention that they have to be lone pairs, but then again I might just be rly dumb

[The Brighter Dark]

It's basically because they have to be balanced, and that usually means 8 electrons for the middle atom