The number of covalent bonds that an atom tends to form is equal to:

A: the number of valence electrons.

B: the number of unbalanced neutrons.

C: the number of unpaired electrons.

D: the atomic number.

E: the number of nearby atoms.

Answer: C) : the number of unpaired electrons.

Explanation: A covalent bond is a type of chemical bond formed by sharing equal number of electrons between two non-metal atoms so that both can attain the a stable octet or duplet structure of noble gases. The electrons shared by two non-metal atoms are the unpaired electrons. For example, in the formation of a chlorine molecule, a chlorine atom has seven valence electrons and electrons usually occur in pairs. Having seven valence electrons means that a chlorine atom has three pairs of electron and one unpaired electron in its outermost shell. The two chlorine atoms will combine together each donating its unpaired electron to be shared, thus leading the two atoms to attain stable octet structure of Argon.