Biochemistry 3

FUNDAMENTALS
Forces Between Particles
Atlantic University
School of Medicine
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ITS ALL ABOUT ELECTRONS: REDUCTIONISM

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi: In my quest for the
secret of life I started my research in
histology. Unsatisfied by the information
that cellular morphology could give me
about life, I turned to physiology. Finding
physiology too complex, I took up
pharmacology. Still finding the situation too
complicated, I turned to bacteriology. But
bacteria were even too complex, so I
descended to the molecular level, studying
chemistry and physical chemistry. After
twenty years' work, I was led to conclude
that to understand life we have to descend
to the electronic level and to the world of
wave mechanics. But electrons are just
electrons and have no life at all. Evidently
on the way I lost life; it had run out
between my fingers.
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Summary

Noble-Gas configurations. The lack of reactivity for noble gases led to the
proposal that the electronic configurations of the noble gases represented
stable configurations. These configurations, usually consisting of eight
electrons in the outer shell, can be represented in several useful ways.
Ionic Bonding. Ionic compounds are formed when reacting atoms gain or
lose electrons to achieve a noble-gas configuration of eight electrons in the
outer shell. This octet rule predicts that atoms will be changed into charged
particles called ions. Ions of opposite charge are attracted to each other; the
attractive force is called an ionic bond.
Ionic Compounds. The charges of simple ions are sometimes called their
electrovalences. Oppositely charged ions group together to form
compounds in ratios determined by the positive and negative charges on
the ions. The formulas representing these ratios contain the lowest number
of each ion possible in a proportion such that the total positive charges and
total negative charges used are equal. Binary ionic compounds are named
by naming the metal, then adding the suffix -ide to the stem of the nonmetal

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 Covalent Bonding. Elements with little or no tendency to gain or

lose electrons often react and achieve noble-gas electronic
configurations by sharing electrons. Electron dot formulas are useful
in representing electron sharing. Shared pairs of electrons exert an
attractive force on both atoms that share them. The atoms are held
together by this attraction to form what is called a covalent bond.
Molecular Shapes. The shapes of many molecules can be
predicted by using the valence-shell electron pair repulsion theory
(VSEPR). According to VSEPR, electron pairs in the valence shell of
the central atom of a molecule repel each other and become
arranged so as to maximize their separation distances from each
other. The resulting arrangement determines the molecular shape
when one or all of the electron pairs involved form bonds between
the central atom and other atoms.

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 Covalent Molecules. Shared electrons may be shared equally, or

they may be attracted more strongly to one of the atoms they bond
together. The tendency of a covalently bonded atoms to attract
shared electrons is called the electronegativity of the atoms.
Unequally shared bonding electron pairs form polar covalent bonds.
The extent of the bond polarization can be estimated from the
electronegativity differences between the bonded atoms. The higher
the electronegativity difference, the more polar (or ionic) is the bond.
Polar covalent bonds cause slight positive and negative charges to
form within molecules. When these charges are symmetrically
distributed in the molecule, it is said to be nonpolar. An
unsymmetrical distribution gives rise to a polar molecule. Binary
covalent compounds are named using the name of the less
electronegative element first, followed by the stem plus -ide of the
more electronegative element. Greek prefixes are used to represent
the number of each type of atom in molecules of the compounds.

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 Polyatomic Ions. Polyatomic ions contain two or more covalently

bonded atoms that carry a net electrical charge. They are
conveniently represented using electron dot formulas. Some
polyatomic ions can be represented by two or more equivalent
electron dot formulas. Ions with this characteristic are said to
demonstrate resonance.
Other Interparticle Forces. Forces other than ionic and covalent
bonds are also known to hold the particles of some pure substances
together in the solid and liquid states. These forces include metallic
bonds, dipolar attractions, hydrogen bonds and dispersion forces.
The strength of the predominant force acting in a substance is
indicated by the melting and boiling points of the substance.

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Formative Assessment

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Question 1
What is the most reasonable way for
barium to achieve a noble gas
configuration.
lose 1 electron
lose 2 electrons
share 6 electrons
gain 6 electrons
it already has a noble gas configuration
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 lose 2 electrons

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Question 2
The ionic compound that forms
between aluminum and oxygen has
which of the following formula?
AlO2
Al2O
Al2O3
Al3O
AlO
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 Al2O3

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Question 3
The correct chemical name for Fe2O3
is:
iron peroxide
iron(II) peroxide
iron(II) oxide
iron(III) oxide

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 iron(III) oxide

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Question 4
A polar covalent bond results from two
atoms:
equally sharing a pair of electrons
unequally sharing a pair of electrons
one atom giving up an electron
two atoms sharing a single electron
a herd of elephants stomping on it

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 unequally sharing a pair of electrons

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Question 5
Which of the following elements has
the highest electronegativity?
B
N
Si
I
Cl

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 Cl

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Question 6
Which of the following molecules
would you expect to be polar?
CO2
CH4
CH2Cl2
H2
F2

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 CH2Cl2

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Question 7
What is the proper formula for calcium
phosphate
CaPO3
Ca3PO3
CaPO4
Ca2PO4
Ca3(PO4)2

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 Ca3(PO4)2

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Question 8
For covalent compounds, which would
be considered the strongest
intermolecular force?
ionic
dispersive
dipole-dipole
hydrogen bonding
What does intermolecular mean?
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 hydrogen bonding

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Question 9
A compound containing a hydrogen
attached to a metal would be expected
to exhibit hydrogen bonding.
True
False

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 False

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Question 10
The correct chemical name for
(NH4)2SO4 is:
octahydrodinitrosulphoxide
ammonia sulfite
ammonium sulfite
ammonium sulfate
ammonia sulfate

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 ammonium sulfate

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The end

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