Abstract
The electronic structures of a number of molecules and ions (H2O, NH3, CH4, CF4, Cl4, ClO4, SO4=, ClO3, SO3=, CO2, and others) are briefly described in terms of one-electron wave functions; other molecular types are easily described in a similar way, and will be discussed in later detailed papers. Many valence phenomena can be understood using these wave functions and a simple rule based on the Pauli principle.