Bonding Basics

You must first learn why atoms bond together. We use a

concept called "Happy Atoms." We figure that most atoms want
to be happy, just like you. The idea behind Happy Atoms is that
atomic shells like to be full. That's it. If you are an atom and
you have a shell, you want your shell to be full. Some atoms
have too many electrons (one or two extra). These atoms like
to give up their electrons. Some atoms are really close to
having a full shell. Those atoms go around looking for other
atoms who want to give up an electron.
Let's take a look at some examples.

We should start with the atoms that have atomic numbers

between 1 and 18. There is a 2-8-8 rule for these elements.
The first shell is filled with 2 electrons, the second is filled with
8 electrons, and the third is filled with 8. You can see
that sodium (Na) and magnesium (Mg) have a couple of
extra electrons. They, like all atoms, want to be happy. They
have two possibilities: they can try to get to eight electrons to
fill up their third shell, or they can give up a few electrons and
have a filled second shell. It is always easier to give away one
or two electrons than it is to go out and find six or seven to fill
your shells. Many other atoms are interested in gaining a few
extra electrons.

Oxygen (O) and fluorine (F) are two good examples. Each of
those elements is looking for a couple of electrons to make a
filled shell. They each have one filled shell with two electrons,
but their second shells want to have eight. There are a couple
of ways they can get the electrons. They can share electrons,
making a covalent bond, or they can just borrow them, and
make an ionic bond (also called electrovalent bond).
So, lets say we've got a sodium atom that has an extra
electron. We've also got a fluorine atom that is looking for one.

When they work together, they can both wind up happy!

Sodium gives up its extra electron. The sodium then has a full
second shell and the fluorine (F) also has a full second shell.
Two happy atoms! When an atom gives up an electron, it
becomes positive like the sodium ion (Na ). When an atom gets
an extra electron, it becomes negatively charged like the
fluorine ion (F ). The positive and negative charges continue to
attract each other like magnets. The attraction of opposite
charges is the way they form and maintain the bond. Any
atoms in an ionic/electrovalent bond can get or give up
electrons.
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Compound Basics
Lets start with molecules. Molecule is the general term used
to describe any atoms that are connected by chemical bonds.
Every combination of atoms is a molecule. A compound is a
molecule made of atoms from different elements. All
compounds are molecules, but not all molecules are

compounds. Hydrogen gas (H ) is a molecule, but not a

compound because it is made of only one element. Water (H O)
can be called a molecule or a compound because it is made of
hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms.
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There are two main types of chemical bonds that hold atoms
together: covalent and ionic/electrovalent bonds. Atoms that
share electrons in a chemical bond have covalent bonds. An
oxygen molecule (O ) is a good example of a molecule with a
covalent bond. Ionic bonds occur when electrons are donated
from one atom to another. Table salt (NaCl) is a common
example of a compound with an ionic bond.
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You may also learn about a third type of bond. Metallic bonds
occur between metal atoms. Were going to focus on ionic and
covalent bonds.

Physical and Chemical

Traits of Compounds
When we discuss phase changes
in matter, we are looking
at physical changes. Physical
forces alone (unless you're
inside of the Sun or something
extreme) rarely break down
compounds completely. You can
apply heat to melt an ice cube, but there will be no change in
the water molecules. You can also place a cup of water in a
container and decrease the pressure. The water will eventually
boil, but the molecules will not change.
Chemical changes in compounds happen when chemical bonds
are created or destroyed. Forces act on the bonds between
atoms, changing the molecular structure of a substance. You
can pour liquid acid on a solid and watch the solid dissolve.

That process is a chemical change because molecular bonds are

being created and destroyed. Geologists pour acids on rocks to
test for certain compounds.
There are millions of different compounds around you. Probably
everything you can see is one type of compound or another.
When elements join and become compounds, they lose many
of their individual traits. Sodium (Na) alone is very reactive.
But when sodium and chlorine (Cl) combine, they form a nonreactive substance called sodium chloride (table salt, NaCl).
New compounds have few or none of the physical or chemical
traits of the original elements. They have a new life of their
own.

Different Bonds Abound

If you look at sodium chloride, it is held together by one
ionic/electrovalent bond. What about magnesium chloride
(MgCl )? It contains one magnesium(Mg) and two chlorine (Cl)
atoms. There are two ionic bonds. Methane (CH ) is made up of
one carbon (C) and four hydrogen (H) atoms. There are four
bonds and they are all covalent.
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Those examples have very simple chemical bonds. However,

most compounds have combinations of ionic and covalent
bonds. Let's look at sodium hydroxide (Na-OH)...

You can see the sodium (Na) part on the left and
the hydroxide (-OH) part on the right. The bond that binds
the hydrogen (H) to the oxygen (O) is covalent. The sodium is
bonded to the hydroxide part of the compound with an ionic
bond. This is a good example of how there can be different
types of bonds within one compound.

Whole Lot Of Rules Going On

The process of naming compounds is just a set of rules.
We're going to show you some of the basics. There are some
advanced ways of naming things that we're going to skip right
now.
When you have two different elements, there are usually only
two words in the compound name. The first word is the name
of the first element. The second word tells you the second
element and how many atoms there are in the compound. The
second word usually ends in IDE. That's the suffix. When you
are working with non-metals like oxygen (O)
and chlorine (Cl), the prefix (section at the beginning of the
word) of the second element changes based on how
many atoms there are in the compound. It's like this...

Do you notice anything about the chalkboard? You can see that
the prefixes are very similar to the prefixes of geometric
shapes. You know what atriangle is. Right? Well the prefix trimeans three. So when you have three chlorine atoms, you
would name it trichloride.
Look at the other names too. You may know about a pentagon,
a hexagon, or an octagon. The naming system in chemistry
works the same way!
Let's put these ideas together! Remember, we're only talking
about simple compounds with no metal elements. Most simple
compounds only have two words in their names. Let's start
with carbon monoxide (CO). That name tells you that you have
one carbon (C) atom and one oxygen (O) atom (you can also
use the prefix MONO to say one atom). Remember that the
second word ends in -ide. So...

(1) Carbon + (1) Oxygen =

Carbon monoxide (CO)
Now we'll build on that example.
What if you have one carbon (C)
and two oxygen (O) atoms?
(1) Carbon + (2) Oxygen =
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
One last example and we'll call it quits. Now you have one
carbon (C) and four chlorine (Cl) atoms.
(1) Carbon + (4) Chlorine = Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)
You should be getting the idea now. The compound name can
tell you how many atoms are inside. Take a look at some of the
examples and see if you understand what is happening in the
name.

Chemical Reactions

Let's start with the idea of a chemical reaction. Reactions

occur when two or more molecules interact and the molecules
change. Bonds between atoms are broken and created to form

new molecules. That's it. What molecules are they? How do

they interact? What happens? The possibilities are infinite.
When you are trying to understand chemical reactions, imagine
that you are working with the atoms. Imagine the building
blocks are right in front of you on the table. Sometimes we use
our chemistry toys to help us visualize the movement of the
atoms. We plug and unplug the little connectors that represent
chemical bonds. There are a few key points you should know
about chemical reactions:
1. A chemical change must occur. You start with one
molecule and turn it into another. Chemical bonds are made or
broken in order to create a new molecule. One example of a
chemical reaction is the rusting of a steel garbage can. That
rusting happens because the iron (Fe) in the metal combines
with oxygen (O ) in the atmosphere. Chemical bonds are
created and destroyed to finally make iron oxide (Fe O ).
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When a refrigerator or air conditioner cools the air, there is no

reaction in the air molecules. The change in temperature is
aphysical change. When you melt an ice cube, it is a physical
change. When you put bleach in the washing machine to clean
your clothes, a chemical change breaks up the molecules in
your stains.
2. A reaction could include atoms, ions, compounds, or
molecules of a single element. You need to remember that a
chemical reaction can happen with anything, just as long as a
chemical change occurs. If you put pure hydrogen gas (H ) and
pure oxygen gas in a room, they might be involved in a
reaction to form water (H O). However, it will be in very very
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small amounts. If you were to add a spark, those gases would

be involved in a violent chemical reaction that would result in a
huge explosion (exothermic). Another chemical reaction might
include silver ions (Ag ). If you mix a solution with silver ions
with a solution that has chloride (Cl ) ions, silver chloride (AgCl)
precipitate will form and drop out of solution.
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3. Single reactions often happen as part of a larger

series of reactions. When a plant makes sugars, there might
be as many as a dozen chemical reactions to get through
the Calvin cycle and eventually create
(synthesize) glucose (C H O ) molecules. The rusting example
we used earlier only showed you the original reactants and
finalproducts of the chemical reaction. There were several
intermediate reactions where chemical bonds were created and
destroyed. The silver chloride example only focused on the
ions. In reality, the
two solutions were
created when two
salts dissociated (spl
it into ions) in water.
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