Ionic and Covalent bonds

Jad Bassam Suleiman Grade 10 (3)

Teacher Samar
The definition of Ionic and Covalent Bonds
• Chemical compounds are formed by the joining of two or more
atoms. A stable compound occurs when the total energy of the
combination has lower energy than the separated atoms. The
bound state implies a net attractive force between the atoms ... a
chemical bond. The two extreme cases of chemical bonds are:
• Covalent bond: bond in which one or more pairs of electrons are
shared by two atoms.
• Ionic bond: bond in which one or more electrons from one atom
are removed and attached to another atom, resulting in positive
and negative ions which attract each other.
Similarities between Ionic and Covalent
Bonds
• The most obvious similarity is that the result is the same: Both ionic and covalent bonding lead
to the creation of stable molecules.
• The reactions that create ionic and covalent bonds are exothermic because elements bond
together to lower their potential energy. By nature, this process releases energy in the form of
heat.
• Although the specifics differ, the valence electrons are involved in both bonding processes. For
ionic bonding, valence electrons are gained or lost to form a charged ion, and in covalent
bonding, the valence electrons are shared directly.
• The resulting molecules created through both ionic and covalent bonding are electrically neutral.
In covalent bonding, this is because two electrically neutral components come together, but in
ionic bonding, it’s because the two charges join and cancel each other out.
• Both ionic and covalent bonds form in fixed quantities. For ionic bonds, fixed amounts of ions
join together to form an electrically neutral whole with the amounts depending on the excess
charges on the specific ions involved. In covalent bonding, they bond according to the number of
electrons they need to share to fill their valence shells.
Differences between Ionic and Covalent Bonds
• The most obvious difference is the way the bonds are formed.
• The individual components of a covalently bonded molecule are electrically neutral, whereas in ionic
bonding they are both charged. This has important consequences when they’re dissolved in a solvent.
An ionic compound like sodium chloride (table salt) conducts electricity when dissolved because the
components are charged, but individual molecules formed by covalent bonding don’t conduct
electricity unless they’re ionized through another reaction.
• Another consequence of the different bonding styles is the ease with which the resulting materials
break apart and melt. Covalent bonding holds atoms together in molecules, but the molecules
themselves are only weakly bonded to one another. As a result, covalently bonded molecules form
structures that are easier to melt. For example, water is covalently bonded and ice melts at a low
temperature. However, an ionic material like salt has a lower melting point because its whole structure
is composed of strong ionic bonds.
• There are many other differences between bonds. The molecules that make up living things are
covalently bonded, for example, and covalent bonds are more common in nature than ionic bonds
overall. Due to the difference in bonding styles, covalent bonds can form between atoms of the same
element (such as hydrogen gas, which has the formula H 2), but ionic bonds can’t.
Examples of Ionic bonding
• Table salt is an example of an ionic compound. Sodium and
chlorine ions come together to form sodium chloride, or NaCl.
The sodium atom in this compound loses an electron to
become Na+, while the chlorine atom gains an electron to
become Cl-.
Formation of sodium fluoride (NaF): The transfer of an electron from
a neutral sodium atom to a neutral fluorine atom creates two oppositely
charge ions: Na+ and F–. Attraction of the oppositely charged ions is the
ionic bond between Na and F.
Examples of Covalent Bonding
• Sharing of electrons between atoms of the same kind E.g. Formation of H2, Cl2, O2, etc.
• Examples of compounds that contain only covalent bonds are methane (CH 4), carbon
monoxide (CO), iodine monobromide (IBr), and Water (H2O) etc.

• Covalent bonding between hydrogen atoms: Since each hydrogen atom has one electron,
they are able to fill their outermost shells by sharing a pair of electrons through a covalent
bond.
Covalent bonding can be visualized with the aid of Lewis diagrams.