Chemical Bonding Overview

Three main types of chemical bonds exist: ionic, covalent, and metallic.

The three main types of chemical bonds are ionic, covalent, and metallic.

An ionic bond forms when one atom donates an electron to another atom, creating oppositely charged ions that attract each other.

A covalent bond forms when two atoms share electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.

A metallic bond involves a sea of delocalized electrons flowing freely among positively charged metal ions.

A cation is a positively charged ion formed when an atom loses one or more electrons.

An anion is a negatively charged ion formed when an atom gains one or more electrons.

Alkali metals (Group 1) and alkaline earth metals (Group 2) readily donate their valence electrons to form ionic bonds.

Halogens (Group 17) and oxygen (Group 16) readily accept electrons to form ionic bonds.

Not necessarily. The ratio of ions in an ionic compound depends on the charges of the ions involved to achieve electrical neutrality.

Ionic compound names follow a specific format:

1. Cation first, followed by anion.
2. Monatomic cation is simply the element's name (e.g., Ca^2+ = Calcium ion).
3. Monatomic anion uses the root name plus '-ide' (e.g., Cl- = Chloride).
4. Combine the names with the charges being understood (e.g., CaCl = Calcium Chloride).

The ionic formula for ammonium is [NH4]+.

The ionic formula for hydroxide is [OH]-.

The ionic formula for nitrate is [NO3]-.

The ionic formula for sulfate is [SO4]2-.

The ionic formula for carbonate is [CO3]2-.

The ionic formula for phosphate is [PO4]3-.

For transition metal ions, you indicate the number of valence electrons they can share or accept in the upper right corner. For example, Fe^2+ indicates it can share or lose 2 electrons.

Roman numerals replace the number of valence electrons lost or gained when naming transition metal ions. Fe^2+ would be called Iron (II) as 2 electrons are lost.

An ionic bond involves a metal and a nonmetal, where the metal donates electrons and the nonmetal accepts them, forming oppositely charged ions that attract.

A covalent bond involves two nonmetals or a nonmetal and a metalloid, where they share electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.

The most electronegative element (the one that attracts electrons more strongly) is written first in the name of the covalent compound.

If a covalent compound contains more than one atom of an element type, a prefix is used to indicate the number of atoms. If there is only one atom, skip the prefix.

The prefix always goes before the name of the electronegative element.

The ending of the second element in the covalent compound is changed to '-ide'.

The prefix "mono-" is used to indicate one atom.

The prefix "di-" is used to indicate two atoms.

The prefix "tri-" is used to indicate three atoms.

The prefix "tetra-" is used to indicate four atoms.

The prefix "penta-" is used to indicate five atoms.