Mastering Chemistry: Chemical Bonding

“Chemical bonds are usually classified as eithercovalent or ionic.

• A covalent bond occurs when atoms share electrons. The resulting cluster of atoms is called a molecule, and the compound is considered to be molecular.
• An ionic bond results from a transfer of one or more electrons from one atom to another. This creates oppositely charged ions that group together into large macroscopic lattices as opposed to small clusters. For this reason, ionic compounds are not considered to be molecular.

As a general rule, covalent bonds occur between two nonmetal atoms whereas ionic bonds occur between a metal and a nonmetal atom.”

(via masteringchemistry.com)

Part A:

Which of the following would you expect to be a molecule and which would you expect to be part of an ionic solid? Drag each compound to the appropriate bin.

CO, SO, HCl, NaI, CaS, KF, MgO, KCl

Molecular: CO, SO, HCl

Ionic: NaI, CaS, KF, MgO, KCl

Part B:

Classify the following compounds as having covalent or ionic bonds. Drag each compound to the appropriate bin.

dinitrogen trioxide, carbon dioxide, magnesium nitride, calcium chloride, sodium bromide, aluminum oxide

Covalent bonds: dinitrogen trioxide, carbon dioxide

Ionic bonds: magnesium nitride, calcium chloride, sodium bromide, aluminum oxide

“The use of the prefixes mono, di, and tri is also a sign that those compounds contain covalent bonds. Those prefixes are not used in ionic compounds to specify the number of anions in the formula. However, there are a few polyatomic anions that have prefixes in their name, such as dichromate.”

(via masteringchemistry.com)