Hint: Carbon has four valence electrons in the outermost shell that’s why it can share its four electrons only. The covalent bond is formed when the atoms share their valence electrons with each other to form the chemical bond.
Complete step by step answer: Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon with molecular formula $C{H_4}$.
The atomic number of carbon is 6. The electronic configuration of carbon is $[He]2{s^2}2{p^2}$. Total four electrons are present in the valence shell of the carbon. The carbon can either lose its four electrons or gain its four electrons to obtain its stability by achieving eight electrons but due to high energy requirements the carbon cannot lose or gain electrons to form ions. So it forms a covalent bond with the atoms by sharing its four electrons with the four other atoms.
The covalent bond is formed by the sharing of electrons between the atoms to form the compound.
In methane the four electrons of carbon bind with the four electrons of four hydrogen atoms to form four covalent bonds. In methane carbon atoms are bonded with four hydrogen atoms.
The structure of the methane is shown below.
Thus, methane with the molecular formula $C{H_4}$ has 4 covalent bonds.
So, the correct answer is “Option A”.
Note:
Carbon is a tetravalent compound therefore, it can only form four covalent bonds with other atoms and no more covalent bond is formed. The carbon compound can form carbocation and carbanion by losing and gaining one electron.
