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For example in a C-O bond, the electronegativity difference is 1.2. does this mean that the Oxygen has 1.2 of the shared electrons and Carbon 0.8 (or some other numbers)? Is there a specific equation that can give us how the bonding electron pair is shared?

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Is there a specific equation that can give us how the bonding electron pair is shared?

No. The electronegativity scale is based on bond strength, not on partial charges. There are quantum-chemical methods to calculate the electron density in a molecule, and you can derive partial charges from that.

For example in a C-O bond, the electronegativity difference is 1.2. does this mean that the Oxygen has 1.2 of the shared electrons and Carbon 0.8 (or some other numbers)?

No, the electronegativity difference does not allow you to make a quantitative statement like that. It is useful, however, to predict how a bond would hydrolyze. It also gives you an estimate about how polar a bond is.

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    $\begingroup$ I just want to add that the way you calculate partial charges is not unique, i.e. you have different models, and they don't necessarily give the same answer, or the same values. As Karsten said, I would take the kind of information that you get from electronegativity only as qualitative, not as quantitative. The same goes for calculated partial charges. $\endgroup$
    – Pier
    Commented Apr 7, 2019 at 21:05

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