ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the carbon atom and the covalent bonds that join carbon atoms together in organic molecules. The most fundamental properties of atoms and of covalent bonds will be introduced, including hybridization, electronic structure, and a brief introduction to using molecular orbital theory for bonding. An atomic orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of either one electron or a pair of electrons in an atom. A molecular orbital is a mathematical function describing the wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. The Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals model is the superposition of atomic orbitals that constitutes a technique for calculating molecular orbitals in quantum chemistry. A molecular orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. Another way to look at a molecular orbital is as a function that describes the electronic behavior of electrons in a covalent bond.
