covalent bonding

what is covalent bonding

Non-metal atoms can share electrons with other non-metal atoms to obtain a full outer shell of electrons

what happens when two atoms share electron pairs

When two atoms share pairs of electrons, they form covalent bonds

what is the strength level of covalent bonds?

covalent bonds between atoms are very strong

what happens when atoms are covalently bonded together

When two or more atoms are covalently bonded together, they form ‘molecules’

what 2 things can covalently bonded molecules consist of?

Covalently bonded substances may consist of small molecules or giant molecules

describe the reactivity of covalently bonded substances?

covalently bonded substances are very stable

what is present in between individual molecules?

weak intermolecular forces

describe the bonding and forces in methane (2)

in methane:

• each molecule consists of four hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a carbon atom

• and in between individual methane molecules there are weak intermolecular forces

what are shared electrons known as

bonding electrons

what do bonding electrons occur in?

pairs

what are non bonding electrons?

Electrons on the outer shell which are not involved in the covalent bond(s) are called non-bonding electrons

why don’t simple molecules conduct electricity?

they don’t contain free electrons

2 shared electrons is equal to…

1 covalent bond

describe this diagram

• there are 2 chlorine atoms

• each chlorine atom has 7 electrons on their outermost shell and therefore need 1 electron each. this equates to the total need of 2 electrons

• so they form 1 covalent bond with a shared pair of electrons forming a cl₂ molecule

describe the differences between ionic and covalent bonding

covalent: shared pair of electrons, no ions formed

ionic: transferred electrons, ions formed