2. Why do atoms combine chemically with other atoms? A. Atoms bind with other atoms because they want the outermost electron shell to complete itself with eight electrons or comply with the octet rule. To do so, the atoms need to combine with other atoms and either gain or lose electrons with another atom to complete the eight electrons in the outer layer. B. Atoms bond to form molecules and ultimately form chemical substarces. Chemical bonds vary in their strength, ranging from relatively strong covalent bonds to very weak hydrogen bonds representing the force of attraction between two atoms or ions. The force of attraction is between one or more negatively charged electtons held by one of the atoms and the positively charged nucleus of the second atom. C. Atoms combine with other atoms to become more stable. What I mean by stable is having a full valence electron shell which is the outermost electron shell. Atoms can accomplish stability by forming an ionic or covalent bond. Ionic bonds are created by the transfer electrons. Covalent bonds are formed when electron(s) in the outer orbit of two atoms are shared- equally or unequally