Chapter 5: Chemical Bonding

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter 5: Chemical Bonding in chemistry.

Chemical Bond

The force that holds atoms or ions together in a compound or between atoms in elemental substances.

Ionic Bond

The electrostatic attraction between ions of opposite charge, formed by the transfer of electrons from a metal to a nonmetal.

Covalent Bond

A bond formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms, typically nonmetals.

Valence Electrons

Electrons in the outer shell of an atom that are involved in forming bonds.

Octet Rule

Atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons to achieve a total of eight valence electrons.

Lewis Symbol

A representation of an atom and its valence electrons using a chemical symbol and dots.

Electronegativity

The ability of an atom in a molecule to attract electrons toward itself.

Dipole Moment

A measure of the separation of positive and negative charges in a molecule, indicating its polarity.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared unequally between atoms, leading to a dipole moment.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared equally between atoms, resulting in no dipole moment.

Empirical Formula

A chemical formula that shows the simplest whole-number ratio of elements in a compound.

Molecular Formula

A chemical formula that shows the exact number and type of atoms in a molecule.

Hybridization

The mixing of atomic orbitals to create new hybrid orbitals for bonding.

VSEPR Theory

A model used to predict the shape of molecules based on the repulsion between electron pairs.

Tetrahedral Geometry

A molecular shape where four atoms are bonded to a central atom with angles of approximately 109.5 degrees.

Trigonal Planar Geometry

A molecular shape where three atoms are bonded to a central atom, forming a flat plane with bond angles of about 120 degrees.

Crystal Lattice

A three-dimensional arrangement of ions in an ionic compound.

Bonding Electrons

Electrons that are involved in the formation of chemical bonds.

Lone Pair Electrons

Pairs of valence electrons that are not shared between atoms in a bond.

Steric Number

The number of atoms or lone pairs bonded to a central atom, determining the geometry of the molecule.