Chemical Bonding

Vocabulary flashcards covering ionic bonding, metallic bonding, molecular covalent bonding, electronegativity, and related concepts from the notes.

Ionic bond

Electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions formed when electrons are transferred from a metal to a non-metal.

Ionic compound

A compound composed of metal and non-metal held together by ionic bonds, typically forming a giant crystal lattice.

Cation

Positively charged ion produced when an atom loses electrons.

Anion

Negatively charged ion produced when an atom gains electrons.

Crystal lattice

The 3D repeating arrangement of ions in an ionic solid held together by electrostatic forces.

Giant ionic lattice

An extended network of alternating cations and anions in an ionic solid.

Electrostatic attraction

The force of attraction between oppositely charged ions in an ionic bond.

Metallic bonding

Bonding in metals caused by delocalized electrons that move freely and hold metal ions together in a lattice.

Sea of electrons

The view of electrons as a mobile 'sea' surrounding positive metal ions in metallic bonding.

Alloy

A homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal.

Substitutional alloy

An alloy where metal atoms of similar size replace some atoms in the crystal lattice.

Interstitial alloy

An alloy where smaller atoms occupy interstitial spaces between larger metal atoms.

Molecular (covalent) bonding

Bonding formed by sharing valence electrons between two or more non-metal atoms.

Nonpolar covalent bond

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared evenly due to similar electronegativities.

Polar covalent bond

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared unequally, pulled toward the more electronegative atom.

Electronegativity

An atom's ability to attract electrons in a chemical bond.

Electronegativity scale

A scale used to predict bond type by comparing electronegativity values of bonded atoms.

Bonding continuum

The range of bond types from complete electron transfer (ionic) to complete sharing (covalent); metallic bonds are not included.

ΔEN (change in electronegativity)

The difference between the electronegativity values of two bonded atoms; used to predict bond type.

Valence electrons

Electrons in the outer shell that participate in bonding.