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3p. The covalent bonding in the methanol molecule CH₃OH

[Author © Dr Phil Brown PhD: Doc Brown's chemistry exam revision notes on chemical bonding and covalent molecules - methanol, suitable for students of UK GCSE Science level AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA GCSE chemistry courses, ~US grades 9-10 chemistry, also useful for more advanced pre-university A level chemistry courses [covalent bonding page updated April 13th 2026 *]

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INDEX of notes on Covalent Bonding: small molecules and properties

OR What next?

* metals \ non-metals (zig-zag line)

Pd metals Part of the modern Periodic Table
Pd = period, Gp = group
metals => non–metals

Gp1 Gp2 Gp3 Gp4 Gp5 Gp6 Gp7 Gp0

1 ₁H_{Note
that hydrogen does not readily fit into any group but is a

non-metal} ₂He

2 ₃Li ₄Be _{atomic number}Chemical Symbol eg ₄Be ₅B ₆C ₇N ₈O ₉F ₁₀Ne

3 ₁₁Na ₁₂Mg ₁₃Al ₁₄Si ₁₅P ₁₆S ₁₇Cl ₁₈Ar

4 ₁₉K ₂₀Ca ₂₁Sc ₂₂Ti ₂₃V ₂₄Cr ₂₅Mn ₂₆Fe ₂₇Co ₂₈Ni ₂₉Cu ₃₀Zn ₃₁Ga ₃₂Ge ₃₃As ₃₄Se ₃₅Br ₃₆Kr

5 ₃₇Rb ₃₈Sr ₃₉Y ₄₀Zr ₄₁Nb ₄₂Mo ₄₃Tc ₄₄Ru ₄₅Rh ₄₆Pd ₄₇Ag ₄₈Cd ₄₉In ₅₀Sn ₅₁Sb ₅₂Te ₅₃I ₅₄Xe

6 ₅₅Cs ₅₆Ba Transition Metals ₈₁Tl ₈₂Pb ₈₃Bi ₈₄Po ₈₅At ₈₆Rn

The covalent molecule methanol from carbon combining with hydrogen and oxygen

A further selection of dot & cross electronic Lewis diagrams for covalent bonding in molecules, particularly simple organic molecules.

Only the outer valency electrons are shown for carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and chlorine.

Can you deduce these electronic diagrams of covalently bonded molecules for yourself?

Ex. 10 nitrogen N₂; Ex. 11 ethane C₂H₆; Ex. 12 chloromethane CH₃Cl and Ex. 13 methanol CH₃OH

Electronic origin of the diagrams showing the outer electrons of N, C, Cl and O: N at. no. 7 (2.5), H at. no. (1), C at. no. 6 (2.4), Cl at. no. 17 (2.8.7) and O at. no. 8 (2.6) plus a variety of crosses and blobs!

The valencies or combining power in these examples are N 3, H 1, C 4, Cl 1 and O 2, so, these valency numbers correspond to the number of electrons the atom needs to give a stable outer shell - that's what valency is all about!

Only the outer electrons are shown in the dot and cross diagram of methanol below.

2D displayed formulae and 3D impression of the displayed formula

AND

3D ball and stick model of methanol CH₃OH AND 3D space-filling model of methanol CH₃OH

The full Lewis dot and cross diagram for the methanol molecule showing the inner shell electrons of carbon and oxygen

The Venn style diagram above is the best style for methanol, clearly showing the sharing of the pairs of electrons for the single covalent bonds in the methanol molecule (in a sort of Venn diagram style).

Comments

Melting point of methanol -98 ^oC

Boiling point of methanol 65 ^oC

You would expect relatively low values because of the weak intermolecular forces between small covalent molecules like methanol.

Methanol is a colourless poisonous-toxic liquid at room temperature.

Alcohols, Ethanol, manufacture, physical properties & chemical reactions (GCSE level)

The chemistry of ALCOHOLS (Advanced A level)

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Recommend next: Explaining the properties of small covalently bonded molecules

Explaining the properties of small covalently bonded molecules

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