STRUCTURES

Module C2
 PURE substances have different STRUCTURES
depending on the type of BONDING they have

IONIC COVALENT METALLIC

eg sodium eg copper
chloride (salt)

SIMPLE GIANT
MOLECULAR MOLECULAR
eg carbon dioxide, eg diamond,
water graphite

The structure of a substance decides what its

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES will be.
 IONIC
Ionic substances are compounds of metals and non-metals (eg
sodium chloride, copper oxide, magnesium sulphide etc)
They are made of IONS: atoms which have lost or gained electrons
giving them a positive or negative CHARGE
Positive Negative
sodium ion chloride ion
Na+
Cl-

The + ions and – ions STRONGLY ATTRACT each other to

make a regular crystal structure
Because of the very STRONG BONDS between the IONS,
ionic compounds have HIGH MELTING & BOILING POINTS

Sodium chloride
Strong ionic melts at over 800°C
bond
 Ionic Melting
compound point (°C)
Iron chloride 677
Potassium chloride 770
Sodium chloride 801
Copper oxide 1446
Calcium oxide 2707
As ionic compounds are made of CHARGED IONS, they can
CONDUCT ELECTRICITY but ONLY if the ions can MOVE.

If it is MOLTEN If it is DISSOLVED
the ions can the ions can move
move
- + -
MELT + - + DISSOLVE
- + -
+ - +

+ - + - + + - + -
+
- + - - + + -
+ - + - + - + -

800°C 20°C H2O

 +

MOLTEN IONIC
COMPOUND

+ - - - +
+ -
- + +
+ - + -

MOLTEN ionic compounds CONDUCT ELECTRICITY

When salt is put in water, H2O molecules pull the ions apart to
make a solution. This lets the ions move around.

H20
molecule

Ions free
to move
around
 PURE WATER SOLID SALT SALT SOLUTION

DISSOLVED ionic compounds also CONDUCT ELECTRICITY

 SIMPLE MOLECULAR SUBSTANCES

These are substances like carbon dioxide CO2, water H2O and
methane CH4 which are always made of simple molecules
whether they are SOLIDS, LIQUIDS OR GASES

H atom

O atom

Whole thing
= H2O molecule
MOLECULES ONLY WEAKLY ATTRACT EACH OTHER

VERY STRONG bonds

BETWEEN ATOMS
(so molecule is very hard to
break up)

WEAK bonds BETWEEN

MOLECULES
(so molecules are easy to
separate)
 SOLID LIQUID GAS

Simple molecular substances can only be a liquid or a solid

when the temperature is LOW enough for the WEAK BONDS
to pull the molecules together
This means simple molecular substances have LOW melting
and boiling points
Mpt Bpt State at
Compound
(°C) (°C) room temp
Water H2O 0 100 Liquid
Butane C4H10 -138 -0.5 Gas
Methane CH4 -182 -164 Gas
Carbon dioxide CO2 - -78 Gas
Oxygen O2 -218 -183 Gas
Hydrogen H2 -259 -252 Gas

Liquid oxygen
Solid oxygen boiling at -183°C
at -240°C
As the bonds between the molecules are weak, simple
molecular substances are weak and soft when solid.

As the molecules are NOT CHARGED simple molecular

substances DON’T CONDUCT ELECTRICITY when solids,
liquids or gases.
 GIANT MOLECULAR SUBSTANCES
In these materials strong covalent bonds join atoms together
with other atoms of the same type to make giant structures,
rather than little groups.

DIAMOND Every C
atom joined
to 4 others
Carbon
atom

(this is only part of

the structure - the
same pattern carries
Only on in every direction)
STRONG
bonds
SILICA (Silicon dioxide SiO2) has a similar structure to diamond

Every Si
atom joined
to 4 O atoms

Silica is the main substance in ROCKS. Pure silica is called

QUARTZ
Because all the atoms in Giant Structures are joined by
STRONG BONDS they:
• Have HIGH melting / boiling points
• Are usually HARD and STRONG

Because all the atoms in Giant Structures are UNCHARGED,

they will not conduct electricity.
 GRAPHITE – a special case
Common form of carbon found in soot, charcoal, pencil leads etc

Carbon atoms each joined

to 3 others with STRONG
bonds to make hexagonal
sheets of atoms
WEAK
BONDS

STRONG
BONDS
The sheets of atoms are
joined to other sheets by
WEAK bonds
 As the bonds
between the
layers of atoms
are weak, they
can easily slide
over each other

As the C atoms are only bonded

to 3 others, the extra electrons
form clouds of ‘free electrons’
between the layers
 GRAPHITE - Properties

The STRONG BONDS between the

ATOMS mean it has HIGH
MELTING and BOILING POINTS

The WEAK BONDS between the

LAYERS mean it is SOFT and
SLIPPERY as the layers SLIDE over
each other easily (used in pencils and
as a solid lubricant)

The FREE ELECTRONS between the layers mean that graphite

CONDUCTS ELECTRICITY (used as sliding contacts in electric
motors)
 METALS
In a metal the atoms are held together by strong bonds in
regular structures.
This means most metals have high melting and boiling points
and are hard and strong
In a metal the atoms LOSE SEVERAL OF THEIR OUTER
ELECTRONS which drift around between the metal ions as
FREE ELECTRONS.

As they have LOST a

few electrons, the
atoms become
POSITIVE IONS

Free (“delocalised”)
electrons
The large number of free electrons makes all metals are
GOOD CONDUCTORS of electricity AND heat.

The regular structure means

the layers of atoms can fairly
easily slide over each other
without breaking the bonds
(though not as easily as
graphite) and so metals are
MALLEABLE (bend rather
than snap)
 SUMMARY - Descriptions METALLIC
IONS IONIC Strong malleable solids
ONLY IONS +
Crystals FREE Don’t dissolve
Dissolve in water ELECTRONS eg copper
eg sodium chloride (salt)

SIMPLE MOLECULAR ATOMS GIANT MOLECULAR

Usually Gases joined into Hard strong solids
eg CO2, H2O GIANT Don’t dissolve
MOLECULE eg diamond
MOLECULES S (graphite – special case)
ONLY
 SUMMARY - PROPERTIES
Structure Property Reason
Ionic HIGH mpt/bpt Strong bonds between IONS
CONDUCT: Solid NO Ions can’t move
Molten YES Dissolved YES Ions can move to carry current
Covalent – LOW mpt/ bpt (often gas at Bonds between MOLECULES
Simple room temp). Soft when solid very weak.
molecular CONDUCT: Never Molecules aren’t charged
Covalent – HIGH mpt/bpt. Hard & strong Strong bonds between all
giant ATOMS
molecular CONDUCT: Never No free charges/electrons
Covalent - HIGH mpt/bpt Strong bonds between ATOMS
graphite Soft & slippery Weak bonds between LAYERS
CONDUCT: YES (fairly well) Free electrons between layers
Metallic HIGH mpt/bpt. Hard & strong Strong bonds between IONS
Malleable Regular structure, layers slide
CONDUCT: YES (very well) Free electrons between ions