Ions, Covalent Bonds, Giant Covalent Structures, and Metallic Bonding Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering ionic bonding, simple covalent molecules, giant covalent structures, and metallic bonding based on lecture notes.

Ion

An atom or molecule with an electrical charge due to the loss or gain of an electron.

Anion

A negatively charged ion formed when a non-metal atom gains an electron, such as a chloride ion ($Cl^-$) formed by $Cl + e^- \rightarrow Cl^-$.

Cation

A positively charged ion formed when a metal atom loses an electron, such as a sodium ion ($Na^+$) formed by $Na \rightarrow Na^+ + e^-$.

Ionic Bond

A strong electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions (a cation and an anion) formed by the transfer of an electron from the cation to the anion.

Dot-and-Cross Diagram

A diagram used to display ionic or covalent bonding where dots represent electrons from one element and crosses represent electrons from another element.

Giant Lattice Structure (Ionic)

A regular 3D arrangement of alternating positive and negative ions held together by strong electrostatic forces of attraction.

Properties of Ionic Compounds

High melting and boiling points, good electrical conductivity when aqueous or molten, and poor electrical conductivity when solid because ions are fixed in position.

Covalent Bond

A bond formed when a pair of electrons is shared between two non-metal atoms, leading to noble gas electronic configurations.

Simple Molecular Compounds

Small molecules (such as $HCl$, $H_2$, $Cl_2$, $NH_3$, and $CH_4$) containing strong covalent bonds within the molecules but weak intermolecular forces between molecules.

Double Covalent Bond

A covalent bond formed when two pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms, such as in carbon dioxide ($CO_2$).

Triple Covalent Bond

A covalent bond formed when three pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms, such as in nitrogen gas ($N_2$).

Properties of Simple Molecular Compounds

Low melting and boiling points due to weak intermolecular forces, and poor electrical conductivity in all states because there are no ions or charged particles to carry charge.

Diamond

A giant covalent structure where each carbon atom is covalently bonded to $4$ other carbon atoms in a tetrahedral 3D shape, making it very hard with a high melting point and non-conductive.

Graphite

A giant covalent structure where each carbon atom is covalently bonded to $3$ other carbon atoms in layers of hexagonal rings, connected by weak intermolecular forces with delocalised electrons between layers.

Silicon(IV) Oxide ($SiO_2$)

A giant covalent structure (silica) where each silicon atom is bonded to $4$ oxygen atoms and each oxygen atom is bonded to $2$ silicon atoms in a hard, rigid tetrahedral arrangement.

Metallic Bonding

The strong electrostatic attraction between positive metal ions (cations) in a giant metallic lattice and a sea of delocalised electrons.

Delocalised Electrons

Outer-shell electrons in metals or graphite that are not fixed to a single atom and are free to move throughout the whole structure to carry electrical charge.

Malleability in Metals

The property of metals allowing them to be bent and shaped because the regular layers of positive metal atoms are able to slide over each other.

Alloy

A mixture of a metal with other metals or materials that is harder than pure metal because different atom sizes distort the regular layers, preventing them from sliding.