Theme: Bonding

Outcome: CH1.5: Explore and describe the formation of bonding: covalent, ionic and
metallic.

Indicators:
This is evident when the student:

a) Describes the formation of ionic bonds between metals and nonmetals.

b) Deduces formula of simple ionic compounds.
c) Describes covalent bonding using dot & cross diagrams.
d) Deduces arrangement of electrons in other covalent compounds.
e) Explains the properties of ionic and covalent compounds.
f) Describes the type of bonding in metals.

Outcome: CH1.6: Deduce the formula of ions and compounds using the periodic table and
construct simple chemical equations.

Indicators:

a) Deduces the formula of simple ions by using the periodic table.

b) Deduces the formulae of ionic compounds from number of atoms and vice versa.
c) Constructs word equations (ionic equations is not required. Balancing is not required).
d) Constructs chemical equations using symbols (balancing of equation is not required).

Bonding

Outcome: CH1.5: Explore and describe the formation of bonding: covalent, ionic and
metallic.

In chemistry a chemical is a link between atom or compound and between ions. Chemical
compounds are formed by the joining of two or more atoms.

Types of bond:

 Ionic bonding
 Covalent bonding
 Metallic bonding.

a) Describes the formation of ionic bonds between metals and non-metals.

[Hydrogen and the metals lose electrons and form positive ions.
Non-metals gain electrons and form negative ions, with names ending in -ide.
(Example: Sodium chloride, nitrous oxide, Calcium sulphide, Potassium fluoride.)]

1
Ionic bonding:
 Positive ions are formed when an atom loses one or more electrons. Metal atoms
usually lose electrons and form positive ions.
 Negative ions are formed when an atom gains one or more electrons. Non- metal
usually gain electrons and form negative ions.

Sodium has 11 protons and 11 electrons. These electrons are arranged as 2+8+1 whereas
chlorine has 17 protons and 17 electrons. These electrons are arranged as 2+8+7

Sodium and chlorine react together and lose 1 electron to chlorine. Now sodium has 10
electrons and 11 protons so it has positive charge. Chlorine now has 18 electrons and 17
protons, so it has negative charge.
The two ions have opposite charges, so they attract each other to form Sodium chloride.
The force of attraction between them is strong. It is called an ionic bond.

Deduces formula of simple ionic compounds.

To deduce the formulae of ionic compounds, the formulae of their ions can be used. The table
shows the names and formulae of some common ions. Cations are positively charged ions, and
anions are negatively charged ions.

Cations (example)

Lithium, Li+

Sodium, Na+

Potassium, K+

Silver(I), Ag+

Calcium, Ca2+

Anions (example)
Chloride, Cl-

Bromide, Br-

2
Iodide, I-

Oxide, O2-

Fluoride

Working out a formula

The formula for an ionic compound must contain the same number of positive and negative
charges so that the charges are balanced and it is neutral overall. Here are some examples.

Example:
Sodium chloride contains Na+ and Cl- ions: this is one positive charge and one negative
charge. The charges are balanced. So the formula is NaCl.

c) Describes covalent bonding using dot & cross diagrams.

Covalent bonding is for non-metals only since only non-metals need to gain electrons. A
covalent bond is formed when a pair of electrons is shared between two atoms. These
shared electrons are found in the outer shells of the atoms. In general, each atom
contributes one electron to the shared pair of electrons.

Covalent bond in water.

3
 Dot and cross diagrams

A dot and cross diagram can show the bonding in a small molecule:

 the outer shell of each atom is drawn as a circle

 circles overlap where there is a covalent bond
 electrons from one atom are drawn as dots, and electrons from another atom as crosses
For example, a hydrogen molecule, H2, forms when two hydrogen atoms each share their
outer electron.

A dot and cross diagram to show the bonding in hydrogen

An ammonia molecule, NH3, forms when one nitrogen atom shares its outer electrons with
three hydrogen atoms. There are two types of dot and cross diagram - one without circles,
and one with.

4
 These dot and cross diagrams show the bonding in ammonia

d) Deduces arrangement of electrons in other covalent compounds.

Ammonia (NH3) molecule has 3 covalent bonds. The diagram shows its structure.

Three-dimensional structures

The structure of a small molecule can also be shown as a three-dimensional ball-and-stick

model. These models show how the atoms and bonds are arranged in space. The diagram
shows a ball-and-stick model of ammonia.

Modelling molecules

There are different ways of representing small covalent molecules, including dot and cross
diagrams, structural formulae and three-dimensional structures.

Structural formulae

A structural formula shows the bonds between the atoms in a molecule, or in a small
section of a large polymer molecule or a giant covalent structure. In these diagrams:

 each atom is shown by its chemical symbol

 each covalent bond is shown as a straight line

For example, an ammonia molecule has three covalent bonds. The diagram shows its
structure.

5
Interpreting dot and cross diagrams

Dot and cross diagrams show how electrons are shared in covalent bonds. The table shows
dot and cross diagrams for an element, chlorine, and two compounds.

6
A nitrogen molecule is made up of two nitrogen atoms joined together. Nitrogen atoms can
form three covalent bonds, so a triple bond forms between them. The structure of nitrogen
is N≡N, showing that it has three shared pairs of electrons.

e) Explains the properties of ionic and covalent compounds.

f) Describes the type of bonding in metals.

Metals are packed closely together in a regular lattice. The tight packing allows losing the
outer electrons to become positive ions.

7
The metallic bond is the attraction between metal ions and free electrons. Metallic bonds
are strong, so metals can maintain regular structure and usually have high melting and
boiling points.

Properties of metals
1. Metals have high melting points
2. Metals are good conductors of heat
3. Metals are good conductors of electricity

8
Defines relative atomic mass and calculate the relative atomic mass of given substances

9
10
11