Ionic and covalent Bonding

Flashcards covering vocabulary terms related to chemical bonding and molecular geometry.

Cation

A positive ion formed when a neutral atom loses one or more electrons.

Anion

A negative ion formed when a neutral atom gains one or more electrons.

Ionic Bonds

Electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged cations and anions.

Ionic Compounds (Salts)

Compounds composed of ions.

Binary Ionic Compounds

Composed of just two elements: a metal (which forms the cations) and a nonmetal (which forms the anions).

Inert Pair Effect

An effect that reflects the relatively low energy of the valence s-electron pair for atoms of the heavy elements of groups 13, 14, and 15.

Covalent Bonds

Results from the mutual attraction of atoms for a “shared” pair of electrons.

Pure Covalent Bond

Electrons in the bond are shared equally.

Polar Covalent Bond

The bonding electrons are shared, but no longer equally, leading to partial charges.

Electronegativity

A measure of the tendency of an atom to attract electrons (or electron density) towards itself.