• How Ions are formed

•Covalent bonds

Electrostatic Attractions
•There is a strong electrostatic
attraction between the shared
pair of electrons and the nuclei
of the atoms involved, since the
electrons are negatively charged
and the nuclei are positively
charged
•Sharing electrons in the covalent bond allows each of the
2 atoms to achieve an electron configuration similar to a
noble gas
• This makes each atom more stable
Non-metal atoms

•Covalent bonds between atoms a

very strong
•Covalent substances tend to
have small molecular structures,
such as Cl2, H2O or CO2
•These small molecules are
known as simple molecules
•Simple molecular structures have covalent bonds joining the
atoms together, but intermolecular forces that act between
neighbouring molecules
•They have low melting and boiling points as there are only weak
intermolecular forces acting between the molecules
•These forces are very weak when compared to the covalent
bonds and so most small molecules are either gases or liquids at
room temperature
• Often the liquids are volatile
•As the molecules increase in size the intermolecular forces also
increase as there are more electrons available
•This causes the melting and boiling points to increase
•Simple covalent molecules do not conduct electricity as they
do not contain free electrons
•As the relative molecular mass of a substance increases, the
melting and boiling point will increase as well more intermolecular
forces of attraction So larger amounts of heat energy are needed
to overcome these forces, causing the compound to have a
higher melting and boiling point