What does bond order indicate in the context of covalent bonding?

Bond order is a concept that reflects the number of electron pairs shared between two atoms in a covalent bond. Specifically, bond order quantifies the strength of the bond; a higher bond order indicates that more pairs of electrons are being shared, which typically results in a stronger bond. For example, a single bond has a bond order of one (indicating one pair of shared electrons), a double bond has a bond order of two (indicating two shared pairs), and a triple bond has a bond order of three (indicating three shared pairs).

This concept is central to understanding molecular structure and stability, as the number of shared electron pairs directly correlates with how tightly bonded the atoms are. Therefore, knowing the bond order allows chemists to infer some properties of the molecule, such as its reactivity and structural integrity, based on the types of interactions between the atoms involved.