Module 2: Chemicla Bonding

Important Terms:

 The valence electrons are the outer most electrons which are directly involved in chemical bonding
 Electronegativity is a measure of the tendency of an atom to attract electrons, the higher its value, the higher its
tendency to attract electrons.
 Ionization energy is the energy needed to pull or remove one or more electrons from a neutral atom. The lower the
ionization energy the easier it is to remove its valence electrons.
 Lewis symbol is composed of the symbol of the element and dots which representthe number of valence electrons
of an atom that can easily be determined through the family /.group number in the periodic table of elements.
 Atoms form bonds with one another to become stable and attain the elecyronic configuration of the noble gas
nearest it.
 An ionic bond involves complete transfer of electrons; thus, ions are formed. It involves metals with low
electronegativity and non-metals with high elctronegativity.
 Ionic compounds conduct electricity when in solution but not in solid phase.
 Ionic compounds are generally soluble in water and in polar solvents.
 A covalent bond involves the sharing of electrons that results in the formation of covalent compound whose
representative particle is a molecule. As a whole, a molecule does not carry a charge.
 Covalent bonds may be polar and nonpolar .
 Two identical non- metallic atoms always form nonpolar covalent compounds such as N2,O2,H2,F2 and other
diatomic molecules.
 Non- identical atoms with electronegativity difference higher than 0.4 and lower than 1.9 produce polar covalent
bond.
 Covalent compounds are non-conductors of electricity in the solid phase and in solution. They have a lower melting
temperature than compounds formed by ionic bonds.
 Metallic bonding exists in metals through the attraction between the freely- moving valence electrons and the
positively charged metal atom. The valence electrons of these metal atoms are usually called “sea of electrons.”
 Thermal and electrical conductivity in metals are due to the free flow of electrons in the solid phase. Aside from
these properties, metals are lustrous,malleable and ductile. These properties are related to the kind of bonding
metals have.

Mapping the periodic table

 Facing the periodic table, metals are located before the metalloids, on the left side of the periodic table of element (
group 1-13)
 Facing the periodic table, non-metals are found after metalloids, on the right side of the periodic table ( group 14-
17)
 Metalloids can act as metals or non- metals.These are elements B,Si,Ge,As,Sb,Te
 Noble gases are at the rightmost column of the periodic table ( group 18/8A)
 The representative elements or main group elements are found in the s- block and p block of the periodic table. The
group number of the s- block ( group 1 and 2) elemens tells us the number of valence electrons. For example, all
elements belonging to group 2 have 2 valence electrons. An exception is helium in group 18. For the p-block
elements (group 13-18), the number of valence electrons is the group number minus 10. This pattern does not
include the transition elements.

 The octet rule tells you that elements gain or lose or share electrons to achieve the electronic configuration of the
nearest noble gas. Atoms always strive to attain the most stable arrangement of electrons. Atoms are stable if their
electrons have the same kind of arrangement as that of noble gases.
 Matals have low electronegativity and ionization energy, thus they tend to transfer or loose electrons. Non-metals
have high electronegativity and ionization energy. They have a greater tendency to attract electrons towards
themselves. Thus non-metals tend to gain electrons.