How are Compounds Formed?

The formation of compounds

Most elements form compounds.

For example: A reaction between sodium and chlorine gives the compound sodium chloride(salt) quite readily.
The noble gases do not usually form compounds. They are different from other elements, since their atoms are
described as stable or unreactive. They are stable because their outer electron shell is full. A full outer shell
makes an atom more stable.

Only the noble gases have full outer shells. This is why they are stable.
Other elements react with each other in order to obtain full outer shells, this makes them more stable.
How atoms lose and gain electrons
Depending on their electronic configurations, atoms lose or gain electrons in order to achieve a full outer shell.

Losing electrons
The sodium atom has one electron in its outer shell. If it loses this one electron it will achieve a full outer shell. By
losing the one electron to another atom, it becomes a sodium ion.

The sodium ion still has 11 protons but by losing one electron it has only 10 electrons compared to the atom. Hence,
its overall charge is +1.
This +1 charge is due to the ion having one more proton than electron.
In naming ions, you take the symbol Na and assign a positive charge. This gives us the sodium ion Na+.

Gaining electrons
A chlorine atom has seven electrons in its outer shell. It can reach a full outer shell by gaining one electron. It will
then become the chloride ion, Cl-.
A negative charge is assigned to the ion to signify that the ion contains one more electron than proton.

Ions
Any atom can become an ion if it gains or loses electrons.
An ion is a charged particle. It is charged due to an unequal number of electrons and protons.

Ionic Bonding
Remembering that elements gain or lose electrons, when forming compounds, so that they achieve a full outer shell let's now look at the reaction between sodium and chlorine.

Example 1: Reaction between sodium and chlorine

A sodium atom loses one electron to achieve a full outer shell and chlorine gains one electron to complete a full
outer shell. So when a sodium atom reacts with a chlorine atom, the sodium atom loses its one electron to
chlorine. The two ions formed are a sodium ion, Na+ and a chlorine ion Cl-.
The two ions have opposite charges, they attract one another.
The force of attraction between them is an electrostatic one. This type of attraction is strong. It is called an ionic
or electrovalent bond.

Example 2: Reaction between magnesium and oxygen

Other metals and non-metals react together to form ionic compounds This is because metals tend to lose
electrons, whereas non-metals tend to gain electrons.
A magnesium atom has two electrons in its outer shell, whereas oxygen has six electrons. This means that
magnesium wants to lose two (to oxygen) and oxygen wants to gain two (from magnesium) so that they can
have full outer shells.

The ions attract each other due to their opposite charges. Magnesium ions and oxide ions are formed. The
product is magnesium oxide, MgO.

Example 3: Reaction between magnesium and chlorine

To obtain full outer shells magnesium must lose two electrons and chlorine must gain one electron. So when we
react magnesium in chlorine, one magnesium atom reacts with two chlorine atoms to form magnesium
chloride,MgCl2.

Covalent Bonding
Sharing electrons
When two non-metals react together, they both need to gain electrons to complete full outer shells. The only way
this can be achieved is if they share their outer electrons
Hydrogen: Each hydrogen atom has only one electron and needs one more to complete its first shell. When two
hydrogen atoms get close together their shells can overlap and then they can share their electrons.

Since, electrons are being shared, there is a strong force of attraction between them. This force is a covalent
bond.
The bonded atoms form molecules. Hydrogen's molecular formula is H2.
Chlorine: A chlorine atom needs a share of one other electron to obtain a full outer shell. If two chlorine atoms are
placed together the result is as shown below:

Oxygen: Each oxygen atom requires a share of two electrons.

Since each oxygen atom has a share of two pairs of electrons, we call this a double covalent bond.
Covalent compounds
There is a vast number of compounds that exist as molecules.
Water: In each molecule, H2O, one oxygen atom shares electrons with two hydrogen atoms.

Ammonia: In each molecule, NH3, one nitrogen atom shares its electrons with three hydrogen atoms, so that they
all reach full shells.

Methane: Its formula is CH4. One carbon atom shares its electrons with four hydrogen atoms.