Ionic and Covalent Bonding

Ionic Bond Formation

• Sodium has $1$ valence electron in its outer shell, while chloride has $7$ valence electrons.
• Sodium transfers its $1$ valence electron to chloride, allowing both to attain a stable outer shell of $8$ electrons.
• Transferring the negatively charged electron generates opposite electrical charges, making sodium positively charged and chloride negatively charged.
• The electrical attraction between opposite charges forms the basis of the ionic bond.

Subatomic Explanation for Ionic Charges

• Proton numbers remain unchanged during chemical bonding because changing the proton number changes the element.
• Sodium is positively charged because it retains $11$ positive protons and has $10$ negative electrons.
• Chloride is negatively charged because it retains $17$ positive protons and has $18$ negative electrons.

Covalent Bonds

• Covalent bonds are the strongest chemical bonds.
• Covalent bonding involves sharing a pair of electrons—one from atom A and one from atom B—to achieve a full outer electron shell.
• Hydrogen has $1$ positive proton, $0$ neutrons, and $1$ negative electron.
• Hydrogen atoms interact and share electrons to fill their outer electron shell and mimic helium.