The hydrogen atoms are held to the oxygen atom in a water molecule by polar covalent bonds. In these bonds, each hydrogen atom shares an electron with the oxygen atom, and oxygen shares one of its electrons with each hydrogen. This sharing of electrons allows each atom to achieve a more stable electron configuration, with oxygen effectively having a full valence shell of eight electrons and hydrogen having two electrons in its valence shell
. Because oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, it pulls the shared electrons closer to itself, creating a partial negative charge near the oxygen and a partial positive charge near the hydrogens. This unequal sharing of electrons makes the bonds polar covalent rather than purely covalent
. In summary, the hydrogen atoms are bonded to the oxygen atom by polar covalent bonds , where electrons are shared but unequally, stabilizing the water molecule's structure
