How do you know how the atoms are bonded. I can never get it right.
I always get them mixed up. Instead of donating electrons, I share electrons.
And the other way around.
Can you tell me a way where I will get it right every time.
I always get them mixed up. Instead of donating electrons, I share electrons.
And the other way around.
Can you tell me a way where I will get it right every time.
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So it all has to do with the way electrons in bonds interact.
In metallic bonding, there's a "sea of electrons" (that's literally what they call it in the textbooks). That means that the electrons don't belong to any atom there. Imagine a bounce house. Electrons everywhere and no ones going to claim them. This is what makes metals so shiny and great conductors. Only happens between metals, if you didn't catch it from the name.
Ionic bonding happens only between cations and anions. Like NaCl forms between Na+ and Cl-. The charges will always balance out. That's a hint. What happens here is one atom is way more electronegative than the other one, which means it wants the electrons more. So all the electrons will go to the one with the higher electronegativity. The weaker atom will be attached to them too, but only enough to have a bond. Picture the typical schoolyard bully and the obligatory wimp. The bully stole the kid's toy (code for electrons) so the kid follows the bully around, but never actually gets close to the ball. I like to call ionic bonding unfair sharing.
A covalent bond is what happens when two nearly equally electronegative atoms form a bond. This is the fair sharing side of the coin. Now instead of the bully, two wimps are fighting over the ball. They're about equal in strength, so it'll turn into a never-ending tug-of-war. Examples of this is when any atom bonds with itself, like Cl2.
Hope this helps.
In metallic bonding, there's a "sea of electrons" (that's literally what they call it in the textbooks). That means that the electrons don't belong to any atom there. Imagine a bounce house. Electrons everywhere and no ones going to claim them. This is what makes metals so shiny and great conductors. Only happens between metals, if you didn't catch it from the name.
Ionic bonding happens only between cations and anions. Like NaCl forms between Na+ and Cl-. The charges will always balance out. That's a hint. What happens here is one atom is way more electronegative than the other one, which means it wants the electrons more. So all the electrons will go to the one with the higher electronegativity. The weaker atom will be attached to them too, but only enough to have a bond. Picture the typical schoolyard bully and the obligatory wimp. The bully stole the kid's toy (code for electrons) so the kid follows the bully around, but never actually gets close to the ball. I like to call ionic bonding unfair sharing.
A covalent bond is what happens when two nearly equally electronegative atoms form a bond. This is the fair sharing side of the coin. Now instead of the bully, two wimps are fighting over the ball. They're about equal in strength, so it'll turn into a never-ending tug-of-war. Examples of this is when any atom bonds with itself, like Cl2.
Hope this helps.
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Metals and Non metals are usually Ironically bonded Like Sodium Chloride this is because the Sodium donates and Electron and the Chlorine receives the electron