Ch 2: Chemical Bonding and Lewis Structures Flashcards
(93 cards)
What are compounds?
- chemicals that are combinations of two or more different elements in defined proportions
- no overall charge, “neutral”
What are ions?
species possessing either an overall positive or negative charge
What are cations?
ions carrying an overall positive charge
What are anions?
ions carrying an overall negative charge
What are simple ions?
ions that contain a single atom
What are complex/polyatomic/molecular ions?
ions that contain multiple atoms
Why are cations/anions isolable?
cations cannot be isolated in the condensed phases (liquid/solid) without anions present to balance the charge to form a net-neutral compound
and vice versa
What holds atoms in compounds together?
chemical bonds
What do chemical bonds consist of?
electrons that simultaneously feel the electrostatic forces of attraction for both of the positively charged nuclei of adjacent atoms
What do elements achieve by forming bonds?
elements achieve a lower overall energy than they would in their free elemental form
What is an ionic bond?
oppositely charged ions held together by electrostatic forces
What is a covalent bond?
atoms are held together by mutual attraction of a pair (or pairs) of electrons to the nuclei of adjacent atoms
electrons are “shared” between the atoms
What is a metallic bond?
electrons are shared between many atoms simultaneously and are free to “flow” between the atoms
Where is the most important type of bond, the metallic bond?
in elemental metals or metallic alloys
What are metallic alloys?
mixtures of two or more elemental metals
What determines whether a bond is covalent or ionic?
the electronegativity difference of the bonding atoms
What is electronegativity?
the tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract electrons to itself
cannot discuss electronegativity of an atom unless it is part of a molecule or molecular ion
How is electronegativity measured?
it cannot be directly measures, it must be calculated from other molecular properties
What may electronegativity values be used for?
to predict the nature of a bond formed between any two elements
What are homonuclear diatomic species?
examples of molecules containing nonpolar covalent bonds, because the atoms in the bond have the exact same electronegativity
What is the polarity of heteronuclear covalent bonds?
polar to varying degrees
What is a polar covalent bond?
electrons are polarized towards the atom with a greater electronegativity, so the electrons are shared unequally
What is bond polarity used for?
to understand molecular properties and chemical reactivity
What bonds may be ionic?
bonds between atoms with very different electronegativity values
ie. NaCl (ΔX = 2.2)