The type of bond that represents a weak chemical bond is the hydrogen bond. Hydrogen bonds are weaker than ionic and covalent bonds and occur when a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to an electronegative atom (such as oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine) is attracted to another electronegative atom. Other examples of weak bonds include van der Waals interactions and hydrophobic interactions. These weak bonds are crucial in many biological processes, such as holding together the two strands of DNA and shaping proteins, but they are much easier to break compared to strong bonds like covalent or ionic bonds.