Final answer:
A covalent bond would form between carbon and oxygen due to the electronegativity difference of 1.0, which facilitates the sharing of electrons rather than a complete transfer.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a chemical bond forms between carbon (with an electronegativity of 2.5) and oxygen (with an electronegativity of 3.5), we predict the bond to be a covalent bond. This bond type is characterized by the sharing of electrons between atoms. Because the electronegativity difference between carbon and oxygen is 1.0 (3.5 - 2.5), it is not large enough to lead to the complete transfer of electrons which would form an ionic bond. Instead, the electrons are shared, but not equally; resulting in a polar covalent bond where the oxygen atom holds a stronger attraction to the bonding electrons, thus having a partial negative charge, and the carbon atom holds a partial positive charge.