Bonding: General Concepts

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to chemical bonding, including types of bonds, molecular structure representations, and important rules in Lewis structures.

Chemical Bond

The force that holds atoms together.

Covalent Bond

A bond formed when atoms share electrons.

Molecule

A collection of atoms bonded together.

Lewis Structure

A diagram showing how valence electrons are arranged among atoms in a molecule.

Ionic Bonding

Occurs between an atom that easily loses electrons and an atom that has a high affinity for electrons.

Electronegativity

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

Polar Covalent Bond

Unequal sharing of electrons between atoms in a molecule, resulting in charge separation.

Ionic Compounds

Formed when metals react with non-metals.

Formal Charge

The difference between the number of valence electrons on a free atom and the number assigned to the atom in the molecule.

Octet Rule

Elements form stable molecules when surrounded by eight electrons.

Chemical Bond

The force that holds atoms together.

Covalent Bond

A bond formed when atoms share electrons.

Molecule

A collection of atoms bonded together.

Lewis Structure

A diagram showing how valence electrons are arranged among atoms in a molecule.

Ionic Bonding

Occurs between an atom that easily loses electrons and an atom that has a high affinity for electrons.

Electronegativity

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

Polar Covalent Bond

Unequal sharing of electrons between atoms in a molecule, resulting in charge separation.

Ionic Compounds

Formed when metals react with non-metals.

Formal Charge

The difference between the number of valence electrons on a free atom and the number assigned to the atom in the molecule.

Octet Rule

Elements form stable molecules when surrounded by eight electrons.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A type of covalent bond where electrons are shared equally between two atoms due to similar electronegativities.

Resonance Structure

One of two or more Lewis structures, which collectively describe the delocalization of electrons within a molecule or polyatomic ion that cannot be represented by a single Lewis structure.

Bond Enthalpy

The energy required to break one mole of a particular type of bond in the gaseous state.

Bond Order

The number of chemical bonds between a pair of atoms. For example, a single bond has a bond order of 1, a double bond has a bond order of 2, and a triple bond has a bond order of 3.

Electronegativity Difference (\Delta EN)

The absolute difference in electronegativity values between two bonded atoms, used to predict the type of chemical bond formed.