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4.1 CHEMICAL BONDS

Chemical compounds are conveniently divided into two broad classes:
Ionic compounds Molecular (Covalent) compounds.
1. Metal and non-metal element Non-metal and non-metal elements
combinations combinations.
2. High melting brittle crystalline solids. Gases, liquids, or waxy, low melting soft solids.
(500°C - 2000°C)
3. Do not conduct as a solid but conducts Do not conduct electricity at any state.
electricity when molten.
4. Dissolved in water produce conducting Most are soluble in non-polar solvents and few
solutions (electrolytes) and few are soluble in water. These solutions are non-conducting
in non-polar solvents. (non-electrolytes).

Chemical bond is the attractive force that holds two atoms together in a more complex unit.
Two broad categories of chemical compounds.
1. Ionic bond is a chemical bond formed through the transfer of one or more electrons from one atom or group
of atoms to another atom or group of atoms.
An ionic compound is a compound in which ionic bonds are present
2. Covalent bond is a chemical bond formed through the sharing of one or more pairs of electrons between two
atoms.
A molecular compound is a compound in which covalent bonds are present.

4.2 VALENCE ELECTRONS AND LEWIS SYMBOLS

Valence electrons are the number of electrons present in the outermost energy shells. The number of valence
electrons present in an element is reflected by its position in the periodic table. For such elements, valence electrons
are always found in either s or p subshells.

Lewis symbol is the chemical symbol of an element surrounded

by dots equal in number to the number of valence electrons
present in atoms of the element.
Lewis symbols, named in honor of the American chemist
Gilbert N. Lewis, who first introduced them, are also
frequently called electron-dot structures.

Determine the number of valence electrons in atoms of each of

the following elements.
a. ₁₂Mg b. ₁₄Si c. ₃₃As

Solution
a. Atoms of the element magnesium have two valence electrons, as can be seen by examining magnesium’s
electron configuration.

b. Atoms of the element silicon have four valence electrons

c. Atoms of the element arsenic have five valence electrons.

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Three important generalizations about valence electrons can be drawn from a study of the Lewis symbols:
1. Representative elements in the same group of the periodic table have the same number of valence electrons.

2. The number of valence electrons for representative elements is the same as the Roman numeral periodic table
group number
3. The maximum number of valence electrons for any element is eight.

Write Lewis symbols for the following elements.

a. O, S, and Se b. B, C, and N

Solution
a. These elements are all Group VIA elements and thus possess six valence electrons. The Lewis symbols, which all
have six “dots,” are

b. b. These elements are sequential elements in Period 2 of the periodic table; B is in Group IIIA (three valence
electrons), C is in Group IVA (four valence electrons), and N is in Group VA (five valence electrons).
The Lewis symbols for these elements are

4.3 THE OCTET RULE

Octet rule is that an atom will be most stable when surrounded by 8 electrons in the valence shell.

An atom that does not have eight electrons will bond with other atoms to have eight electrons. A configuration that
has eight electrons is also referred to as the ‘noble-gas configuration’.

The valence electron configurations of the noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon) are considered
the most stable of all valence electron configurations. All of the noble gases except helium possess eight valence
electrons, which is the maximum number possible. Helium’s valence electron configuration is 1s2. All of the other noble
gases possess ns² np⁶ valence electron configurations, where n has the maximum value found in the atom.

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The Bohr model shows the atom as a central nucleus containing protons and neutrons with the electrons in circular
orbitals at specific distances from the nucleus.

Each shell can only hold certain number of electrons. K shell can have 2, L can have 8, M can have 18 electrons and N
can hold 32 electrons.

K= 2 electrons
L = 8 electrons
M = 18 electrons
N = 32 electrons

Example:

 Lithium has three electrons:

o two go to K shell and
o The remaining one goes to the L shell.
o Its electronic configuration is K(2), L(1)
o Lithium has 1 valence electron (red dot).

 Fluorine has nine electrons:

o two go to K shell and
o The remaining seven go to the L shell.
o Its electronic configuration is K(2), L(7). Note that L can have 8 electrons.
o Fluorine has 7 valence electrons. (red dot)

 Aluminum has thirteen electrons:

o two go to the K shell,
o eight go to the L shell, and
o The remaining three go to the M shell.
o Its electronic configuration is K(2), L(8), M(3). Note that the M shell can have 18 electrons.
o Aluminum has 3 electrons. (red dot).

4.4 THE IONIC BOND MODEL

Electron transfer between two or more atoms is central to the ionic bond model. This electron transfer process
produces charged particles called ions. An ion is an atom (or group of atoms) that is electrically charged as a result of
the loss or gain of electrons.

If an atom gains one or more electrons, it becomes a negatively charged ion; excess negative charge is present
because electrons outnumber protons.
If an atom loses one or more electrons, it becomes a positively charged ion; more protons are present than electrons.

The charge on an ion depends on the number of electrons that are lost or gained.
Loss of one, two, or three electrons gives ions with +1, +2, or +3 charges, respectively.
Gain of one, two, or three electrons gives ions with -1, -2, or -3 charges, respectively.

Example:
Give the chemical symbol for each of the following ions.
a. The ion formed when a barium atom loses two electrons
b. The ion formed when a phosphorus atom gains three electrons

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Solution:
a. A neutral barium atom contains 56 protons and 56 electrons because barium has an atomic number of 56. The
barium ion formed by the loss of 2 electrons would still contain 56 protons but would have only 54 electrons
because 2 electrons were

b. The atomic number of phosphorus is 15. Thus 15 protons and 15 electrons are present in a neutral phosphorus
atom. A gain of 3 electrons raises the electron count to 18.

4.5 THE SIGN AND MAGNITUDE OF IONIC CHARGE

The octet rule provides a very simple and straightforward explanation for the charge magnitude associated with ions of
the representative elements. Atoms tend to gain or lose electrons until they have obtained an electron configuration
that is the same as that of a noble gas.

The considerations we have just applied to generalizations:

1. Metal atoms containing one, two, or three valence electrons (the metals in Groups IA, IIA, and IIIA of the
periodic table) tend to lose electrons to acquire a noble-gas electron configuration. The noble gas involved is
the one preceding the metal in the periodic table.
Group IA metals form 1+ ions.
Group IIA metals form 2+ ions.
Group IIIA metals form 3+ ions.
2. Nonmetal atoms containing five, six, or seven valence electrons (the nonmetals in Groups VA, VIA, and VIIA of
the periodic table) tend to gain electrons to acquire a noble-gas electron configuration. The noble gas involved
is the one following the nonmetal in the periodic table.

Group VIIA nonmetals form 1- ions.

Group VIA nonmetals form 2- ions.
Group VA nonmetals form 3- ions.
3. Elements in Group IVA occupy unique positions relative to the noble gases. They would have to gain or lose
four electrons to attain a noble-gas structure.

Example:
1. The element sodium has the electron configuration.

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2. The element chlorine has the electron configuration

4.6 LEWIS STUCTURES FOR IONIC COMPOUNDS

Ion formation requires the presence of two elements:

A. a metal that can donate electrons

B. Nonmetal that can accept electrons.

The electrons lost by the metal are the same ones gained by the nonmetal. The positive and negative ions
simultaneously formed from such electron transfer attract one another. The result is the formation of an
ionic compound.

Lewis structure is a combination of Lewis symbols that represents either the transfer or the sharing of
electrons in chemical bonds.

Lewis Symbols – Ionic Compounds

Recall that Lewis symbols can be used to illustrate the formation of cations from atoms, as shown here for sodium
and calcium:

Likewise, they can be used to show the formation of anions from atoms, as shown here for chlorine and sulfur:

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1. The reaction between the element sodium (with one valence electron) and chlorine (with seven valence
electrons) is represented as follows with a Lewis structure: NaCl

2. When sodium, which has one valence electron, combines with oxygen, which has six valence electrons, the
oxygen atom requires the presence of two sodium atoms to acquire two additional electrons. Na₂O

3. Na₃N

4. MgO

5. Al₂S₃

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4.7 RECOGNIZING AND NAMING BINARY IONIC COMPOUNDS
The term binary means “two.” A binary compound is a compound in which only two elements are present.
The compounds NaCl, CO₂, NH₃, and P₁O₁₀ are all binary compounds.

Binary ionic compound is an ionic compound in which one element present is a metal and the other element
present is a nonmetal. The metal is always present as the positive ion, and the nonmetal is always present as the
negative ion.

Recognizing a Binary Ionic Compound on the Basis of its Chemical Formula:

a. Al₂S₃
= Ionic; a metal (Al) and a nonmetal (S) are present.
b. H₂O
= Not ionic; two nonmetals are present.
c. KF
= Ionic; a metal (K) and a nonmetal (F) are present.
d. NH₃
= Not ionic; two nonmetals are present.

Names of Selected Common Nonmetallic Ions

Rules:

1. The full name of the metallic element is given first, followed by a separate word containing the stem of the
nonmetallic element name and the suffix -ide.
The general pattern for naming binary ionic compounds is:
Name of metal + stem of name of nonmetal + -ide

Naming Binary Ionic Compound:

a. MgO
= The metal is magnesium and the nonmetal is oxygen. Thus the compound’s name is magnesium oxide.
b. Al₂S₃
= aluminum sulfide
c. K₃N
= potassium nitride

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d. CaCl2
= calcium chloride

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