Chemical Bonds

Force keeping atoms and molecules together is called bond. Atoms come together and becomes
more stable and energy is released during this process. Thus, we can say that all bonding
reactions are exothermic. On the contrary, all breaking bonds reactions are endothermic. Valence
electrons of atoms and molecules play role in bonding. If bond binds atoms together, then we call
it chemical bond. However, if bond bind molecules together, we call it molecular bond.

Chemical Bonds:

There are two types of chemical bonds;

 Ionic bond

 Covalent bond

While elements form compounds they tend to have electron configuration of noble gases. Except
from He, all noble gases end their electron configuration with ns2 np6. In other words all shells of
noble gases are filled. They are too stable. Atoms also want to be stable and complete their
number of valence electrons to 8.

Lewis Structures of Atoms

Representations of the valence electron around symbol of elements with dots. For example;

11Na=1s22s22p63s1

As you can see Na has one valence electron in its outermost shell. We show it with Lewis
formula;

Na●

On the other if 1s, 2s and 2p orbitals are full, then they  are not represented with Lewis formula.

Example: 17Cl write Lewis formula of Cl atom.

17Cl=1s22s22p63s23p5

Valence electrons of ions can also be represented with Lewis formula. For example;

Lewis formula of 9F-1 is;

  

1. Ionic Bond:

It is the bond between positively and negatively charged ions. Metals and nonmetal atoms join
together with ionic bond. Metal atom lose electron and becomes positively charged and nonmetal
atom accept electron and becomes negatively charged. Force keeping ions together is
electrostatic attractive force.

 In periodic table A group metals lose electrons equal to their group number. For example;
metals in I A lose 1 electron and becomes +1 ion, metals in II A lose 2 electrons and becomes +2
ion, metals in III A lose 3 electrons and becomes +3 ion.

 Nonmetals accept electron that completes its valence electrons to noble gases. For example;
nonmetals in V A group accept 3 electrons and becomes -3 ion, nonmetals in VI A group accept 2
electrons and becomes -2 ion, nonmetals in VII A group accept 1 electron and becomes -1 ion.

 During ionic bonding process, number of accepted electrons is equal to number of lost
electrons.

Example: Analyze bond between  NaCl molecule.

Na loses 1 electron and becomes Na+. 17Cl accepts one electron and becomes Cl-. Attraction
11
between opposite ions form ionic bond.

 Strength of ionic bond is directly related to tendency of losing electron of metals and accepting
electron of nonmetals.

2. Covalent Bond:

If atoms share their valence electrons during bonding process, we call it covalent bond. There is
no electron transfer. This type of bond is seen in between two or more nonmetal atoms. To have
covalent bond, atoms must have at least one half filled orbital. Covalent bond between H2
molecule is shown below;

 Number of covalent bond is equal to number of half filled orbitals.

 First covalent bond between two atoms is called sigma bond and showed with "σ".

 There is only one sigma bond between two atoms and other bonds are called pi bonds and
showed with "π".
Example: Analyze bond between O2 molecule.

8 O=1s22s22p4

Or showing with orbital and Lewis dot schema;

As you can see from orbital schema and Lewis dot formula O has two half filled orbitals and it
can does two bond. First bond is called sigma and showed below;

These O atoms share their second electrons and becomes O2 molecule;

Example: Show covalent bonds of NH3.

Example: Which one of the following statements is false for 8O element.

I. It is nonmetal
II. It can does two bonds

III. In ground state electron configuration it has two filled orbital

IV. I does covalent bond with 9F element.

V. It does ionic bond with 11Na and forms compound ; Na2O

Solution:

8 O has electron configuration in ground state;

I. Since number of valence electrons of 8O is 6, it is nonmetal. True

II. It has two half filled orbital, thus it can does two bonds. True

III. As you can see from orbital schema, 8O has 3 filled orbital in ground state. False

IV. 9F has electron configuration in ground state;

F: 1s22s22p5

F has 7 valence electron and so it is nonmetal. We have learned that two nonmetal atoms join
with covalent bond. True

V. 11Na has electron configuration in ground state;

Na: 1s22s22p63s1

Na gives one electron and becomes Na+ and O accepts 2 electrons and becomes O-2. Thus, bond
between them is ionic bond. True.

Chemical Bonds Exams and Problem Solutions

Next >Polarity of Bonds

Tags:

 bond
 chemical bonds
 covalent bond
 ionic bond
 lewis structures of atoms
 molecular bond

Additional Information

Related

Chemical Formula Definition

A chemical formula is an expression which states the number and type of atoms present in a
molecule of a substance. The type of atom is given using element symbols. The number of atoms
is indicated by a subscript following the element symbol.

Chemical Formula Examples

 There are 6 C atoms and 14 H atoms in a hexane molecule, which has a molecular
formula of C6H14.
 The chemical formula of table salt or sodium chloride is NaCl. There is one sodium atom
and one chlorine atom in each molecule. Note there is no subscript for the number "1".

Types of Chemical Formulas

While any expression that cites the number and kind of atoms is a chemical formula, there are
different types of formulas, including molecular, empirical, structure, and condensed chemical
formulas.

Molecular Formula

Also known as the "true formula", the molecular formula states the actual number of atoms of the
elements in a single molecule. For example, the molecular formula of the sugar glucose is
C6H12O6.

Empirical Formula
The empirical formula is the simplest ratio of the whole number of elements in a compound. It
gets its name because it comes from experimental or empirical data. It's sort of like simplifying
mathematical fractions. Sometimes the molecular and empirical formula are the same (e.g.,
H2O), while other times the formulas are different. For example, the empirical formula of
glucose is CH2O, which is obtained by dividing all of the subscripts by the common value (6, in
this case).

Structural Formula

Although the molecular formula tells you how many atoms of each element are present in a
compound, it does not indicate the way the atoms are arranged or bonded to each other. A
structural formula shows the chemical bonds. This is important information because two
molecules may have share the same number and type of atoms, yet be isomers of each other. For
example, ethanol (grain alcohol people can drink) and dimethyl ether (a toxic compound) share
the same molecular and empirical formulas.

There are different types of structural formulas, too. Some indicate the two-dimensional
structure, while others describe the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms.

Condensed Formula

One particular variation of an empirical or structural formula is the condensed formula. This type
of chemical formula is a sort of shorthand notation, The condensed structural formula may omit
the symbols for carbon and hydrogen in the structure, simply indicating the chemical bonds and
formulas of functional groups. The written condensed formula lists the atoms in the order in
which they appear in the molecular structure. For example, the molecular formula of hexane is
C6H14, but its condensed formula is CH3(CH2)4CH3. This formula not only provides the number
and type of atoms, but also indicates their position in the structure.