Yes, They can & when they do, they form compounds.
When two or more elements bond together they form a compound.
Oxygen can form two bonds. It typically forms double bonds with other elements.
Be or Beryllium can form up to two (2) bonds in its natural state.
Covalent bonds form between nonmetal elements. These elements share electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration and create a bond by overlapping their electron clouds.
Covalent bonds are between nonmetals.
Barium can typically form two bonds with other elements. It has two valence electrons that it can share or donate in chemical reactions.
Atoms of elements combine to form compounds. A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances.
Two elements will form ionic compound if the difference in electronegativity between the two elements is above 1.7 and two elements will form covalent compound if the difference in electronegativity between the two elements is below 1.7 Metals and non-metals will form generally ionic compounds.
Nonmetals are likely to form covalent bonds because they have similar electronegativities and like to share electrons to achieve a stable configuration. Examples of elements that form covalent bonds include hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon.
When two or more elements are joined by chemical bonds to form a new substance, it is called a chemical compound. This results in a unique set of properties that are different from the individual elements that make up the compound.
The four elements that form covalent bonds most commonly are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. Covalent bonds involve the sharing of electrons between atoms to achieve stability in their outer electron shells.
Some common elements that can form single bonds include hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens like chlorine. Single bonds involve the sharing of one pair of electrons between two atoms.