Cecil 9th science 3/3/11 Ways Atom Combine Atoms have neutrons, protons and electrons. When atoms come together they all have outer levels and inner levels. Atoms are made up of ions. Ions are charged particles because they now have either more or fewer electrons than protons. Atoms come together in four different ways, ionic, covalent. single covalent and multiple covalent bonds. An ionic bond is the force of attraction between the opposite charges of the ions in an ionic compound. A covalent bond is the attraction that forms between atoms when they share electrons. A single covalent bond is made up of two shared electrons. Usually, one of the shared electrons comes from one atom in the bond and the other comes from the other atom in the bond. A multiple covalent bond is a bond that contains two or more shared pairs of electrons.