Chapter 5 CHEMICAL BONDS

FORMATION OF COMPOUNDS
Stability of Noble Gases 1. The noble gases are stable because their outermost shells are full 2. Their full shells are stable because they have :
2 electrons (duplet configuration) such as in helium atoms b) 8 electrons (octet configuration) such as in all the other noble gas atoms.
a)

3. The atoms of noble gases : a) Do not donate (give away) electrons from their atoms. Therefore, they do not form positive ions b) Do not receive electrons into their electronic structure. Therefore, they do not form negative ions

Formation of Chemical Bonds 1. Chemical bonds can only be formed if

There is a transfer of electrons from one atom to another atom b) There is sharing of electrons
a)

2. During the transfer of electrons, positive ions and

negative ions are formed. The compounds formed by the combination of +ve and ve ions are called ionic compounds 3. In the sharing of electrons, covalent compounds will be formed 4. Except for noble gases, all other types of atoms do not have the stable electronic configuration. This is because they do not have the octet or duplet configuration of electrons

IONIC BONDS
Sodium Atom 1. Na atom has 11 electrons and its electronic configuration is 2.8.1 2. This electronic configuration is not stable because does not have octet configuration 3. It can attain this octet configuration by giving away its valence electron to become a positive ion 4. Electronic configuration : Na Na+ + e 2.8.1 2.8

Chlorine Atom 1. Chlorine atom has 17 electrons and its electronic configuration is 2.8.7 2. This electronic configuration is not stable because not have the octet configuration 3. It can attain this octet configuration by gaining one electron to become a negative ion Cl4. Electronic configuration ; Cl + e Cl2.8.7 2.8.8

 When a sodium atom reacts with a chlorine atom, an

electron of the sodium atom is given to the chlorine atom The final electronic structure of both ions are The +ve charged ion Na+ will attract the ve charged ion Cl- to form the compound NaCl This force of attraction enables the two ions to stick together. This produces the ionic bond between the two ions

Formation of Positive Ions 1. All the elements in Group 1 of the Periodic Table have one valence electron 2. All the elements can lose this electron to achieve the stable electronic configuration Li Li+ + e 2.1 2 3. All atoms of the elements in Group 2 of the Periodic Table have two valence electrons 4. Each atom can lose these 2 electrons to form an ion with a charge of 2+ Mg Mg2+ + 2e 2.8.2 2.8

Formation of Negative Ions 1. All atoms of the elements in Group 17 of the Periodic Table have 7 electrons in their outermost shells 2. They can achieve the stable electronic structure by receiving an electron and form negative ions with a charge of 1F + e F2.7 2.8 3. All atoms of the elements in Group 16 of the Periodic Table have 6 valence electrons 4. They receive 2 electrons and form -2 ions O + 2e O22.6 2.8

Formation of Ionic Compounds 1. All positive ions will attract negative ions 2. This will bind them together to form ionic compounds 3. During the formation of ionic compounds all positive charges must be balanced by negative charges 4. Example ; sodium + bromine sodium bromide Na Na+ + e Br + e BrNa+ + BrNaBr

Predicting the Formula of an Ionic Compound 1. During the formation of ionic compounds, electrons are transferred from metallic elements to non-metallic elements 2. Example; predict the formulae of the ionic compounds formed from the following elements - sodium and oxygen step 1 : write the Lewis structure of each element in the compound step 2 : make sure that the total number of electrons lost are equal to the total number of electrons gained - an oxygen atom needs two electrons

COVALENT BONDS
A covalent bond is a bond that is usually formed

between non-metal atoms by the sharing of electrons Non-metals such as hydrogen do not lose electrons from their outer shells Electrons need to be added to the outer shells to attain the stability of the noble gas atoms When the atoms of two non-metals react, all the atoms need to gain electrons to complete the octet shell of electrons. They can do this by sharing electrons between them

Lewis Structure The Lewis structure of a molecule shows how the valence electrons of the atoms are arranged in the molecule Example;
a helium atom has 2 valence electrons. Therefore, its Lewis structure is as follows b) A neon atom has 8 valence electrons. Its Lewis structure is as follows
a)

Single Bonds - Chlorine molecule

A chlorine atom needs one more electron to obtain a full outer shell 2. When 2 chlorine atoms come together, they share 2 of their outer electrons 3. In this way, each chlorine atom will have 8 electrons in its outer shell 4. The following Lewis structure shows the formation of Cl2
1.

EXAM TIPS
When you answer question on covalent bonds, always remember that : Covalent bonds are formed by the sharing of electrons Only non-metals form covalent bonds

Single Bonds - Water molecule

the formula of water is H2O 2. When 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen get close together, they share the electrons in their outer shells 3. An oxygen atom shares electrons with 2 hydrogen atoms. In this way the following will occur :
1.
a) b)

The oxygen atom will have 8 electrons in its outer shells The hydrogen atoms will each have 2 electrons in its outer shell

4.

The following Lewis structure shows the formation of the H2O molecule

Double Bonds - Oxygen Molecule

1.

2.
3. 4. 5.

6.

The formula of oxygen gas is O2 Oxygen is in Group 16 of the Periodic Table. Therefore, it has 6 electrons in its outer shell To achieve the octet configuration, each atom needs to have extra 2 electrons When 2 oxygen atoms come together, they share 4 of their outer shell electrons The oxygen atoms share 2 pairs of electrons, this type of bond is called a double covalent bond or just double bond The following Lewis structure shows the formation of the O2 molecule.

Triple Bonds - Nitrogen Molecule

1. 2.

3.
4. 5. 6.

Its formula is N2 Nitrogen is in Group 15 of the Periodic Table. The nitrogen atom has five electrons in its outer shell To achieve the octet of electrons, each nitrogen atom needs another three electrons When 2 nitrogen atoms come together, they share their outer electrons Each nitrogen atom contributes 3 electrons to form three covalent bonds The following Lewis structure shows the formation of the N2 molecule

THE PROPERTIES OF IONIC AND COVALENT COMPOUNDS

Properties of Ionic Compounds 1. Ionic compounds are made up of positive ions (cation) and negative ions (anion) 2. These ions are free to move if the ionic compound melts or dissolves in water 3. In the molten state or in an aqueous solution, the anions and cations are free to move. This enables them to conduct electricity 4. Solid ionic compounds usually exist in crystalline form. They.
Dissolve easily in water b) Usually insoluble in organic solvents
a)

Properties of Covalent Compounds 1. Covalent compounds are usually molecular compounds. These atoms in each molecule are bonded to one another by strong covalent bonds 2. However, the attraction between the molecules is weak
Liquid bromine consists of millions of molecules of Br2 b) In a molecule of bromine there are 2 bromine atoms. The atoms are linked to each other by covalent bond ( Br Br ) c) This bond is very strong. The strength of this bond is called the intra-molecular force d) However, the force of attraction between molecules of Br2 is very weak.( inter-molecular force )
a)

3. In a covalent compounds, the inter-molecular force

is weak. The intra-molecular force is strong 4. Covalent compounds usually dissolve in organic solvents but do not dissolve in water 5. Covalent compounds in liquid form do not have free ions. Thus, they do not conduct electricity 6. Covalent substances.
With giant molecules (diamond) usually have very high melting and boiling points b) With simple molecules usually have low boiling and melting points (liquid bromine)
a)

Characteristic Bond formation

Ionic compounds By the transfer of 1 or more electrons from one atom to another Metal with non-metal Ionic particles Normally solid High (usually above 3000C) Usually very soluble Not volatile Conduct electricity in the molten state or in aqueous solution Do not conduct electricity in the solid state

Covalent compounds By the sharing of electrons between 2 atoms

Elements Particles Physical state Melting point Solubility in water Volatility Conductivity

Non-metal with non-metal Molecular particles Can be solid, liquid or gas Low (usually below 3000C) Usually insoluble Usually volatile Do not conduct electricity in any form

Uses of Covalent Compounds as Solvents 1. Organic solvents are liquid organic compounds 2. Organic solvents usually have simple covalent bonds 3. The following are organic solvents
Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol b) Tetrachloromethane c) Benzene d) Propanone
a)

4. There are two main uses of an organic solvents a) They are used for dissolving organic compounds b) They are used as a cleaning liquids especially to get rid of grease