advantages and disadvantages of ionic compounds diagrams

dot and cross diagrams

• useful for showing how ionic compounds are formed

• they dont show the structure of the compound, the relative sizes of the ions or how they're arranged

3d models

• they show the relative sizes of the ions as well as the regular pattern in an ionic crystal

• they only let you see the outer layer of the compound

ball and stick models

• they show the regular pattern in an ionic lattice as well as how all the ions are arranged

• they suggest that the crystal extends beyond what is shown in the diagram

• they sometimes show the relative sizes of the ions

• sometimes the ions are not shown to scale

• they suggest that there are gaps between the ions when in reality there isnt