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While electrons are transferred from one element to another in ionic bonds, valence electrons are shared in covalent bonds.

The ultimate "goal" of elements in bonding is to complete their outer shell, that is, end up with 8 valence electrons. Elements in ionic bonds accomplish this by giving away or taking electrons until their outer shell is complete; elements in covalent bonds share electrons so that the electrons completing the outer shell of one element are also completing the outer shell of the other.

For example, in the case of O2, both oxygen atoms are looking to complete their outer shells, and both have 6 valence electrons, creating a total of 12 valence electrons. When they bond, they share two pairs of electrons, giving 4 electrons that are shared between the two, and 4 electrons per atom that are not shared. This creates a double bond between the two oxygen atoms (because two pairs of electrons are being shared) and means that while each atom has 8 electrons in its outer shell, because 4 of them are shared, there are still only 12 valence electrons overall.

Thus in covalent bonds electrons are shared between two atoms to complete both outer shells at once.

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