Covalent Compounds Flashcards
Define: Covalent Bond
A chemical bond that is made by sharing electrons
Define: Homonuclear Diatomic
A molecule consisting of two atoms of the same element
(Group 7A as well as a few other elements occur as homonuclear diatomics naturally.)
Define: Covalent Compound
A compound whose elements are held together by covalent bonds
Can there be metals in covalent compounds?
No. They are two prone to giving away their electrons.
State the general trend for atomic radius on the Periodic Table of Elements.
As you travel up the Periodic Table and to the right, atomic radius generally decreases.
Define: Electronegativity
A measure of how strongly atoms attract electrons in a covalent bond
Note: This is a relative measurement!
Define: Polar Covalent Bond
A covalent bond in which the electrons are not shared equally
Define: Polar Covalent Molecule
A molecule that has an uneven distribution of electrons, resulting in slight charges within the molecule itself
Define: Purely Covalent Bond
Covalent bond in which the electrons are shared equally
What theory is used when determining the shape of a molecule?
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR). This states that the paired electrons in a molecule repel each other, so their elements will do their best to find the angle that will keep them as far away from each other as possible.
List five shapes a molecule can come in.
Tetrahedral, pyramidal, bent, triagonal, and linear.
What must a molecule have in order to be polar?
The molecule’s polar covalent bonds can’t pull equally in all directions, otherwise they would cancel out and become a purely covalent bond.
Atomic Radius
The distance between an atom’s valence electrons and the center of the nucleus.
