Polar vs Non- Polar Bonds

Review of Ionic Compounds

•They are hard and brittle.
•They have relatively high melting and boiling points. For example,
sodium chloride melts at 801 °C.
•They conduct electricity as molten liquids but not as solids.
•They conduct electricity when dissolved in water.
Formation of Ionic Bonds
•Ionic bonds are formed when a non-metal removes an electron from a
metal atom.

•This forms a positive and a negative ion which are attracted to each
other, creating a bond.
•Multiple electrons can also be removed.
Properties of Covalent Bonds
•Variety of textures
•Relatively low melting points and boiling points
•Do not dissolve in water
Formation of Covalent Bonds
•A covalent bond results from the sharing of a pair of electrons between
two atoms
•Bonding electron – an electron in the valence shell that is available to be
shared with another atom
•Lone pair – a pair of electrons that is NOT involved in covalent bonding
Steps for Drawing Lewis Diagrams
Example: Draw a Lewis structure for methanol, CH2O.
1.Arrange the symbols so that the element with the largest bonding capacity is in the
centre.

2.Count the valence electrons for each atom.

•C atom: 4 e-
•O atom: 6 e-
•2 H atoms: 2(1e-) = 2e-
•Total = 12e-
3.Place 1 bond (2e-) between the central atom and each surrounding atom
4.Place lone pairs around the surrounding atoms so that they have full
valence shells.

5.Subtract the number of e- you have used from the total number you
found in step 2. If there are any leftover e-, place them around the central
atom.
6.If all e- have been used up but the central atom does not have a full
valence shell, add double or triple bonds until it does.

7.To create a structural diagram, remove the dots representing lone pairs
Practice
Draw a Lewis structure and structural formula for

● F2
● CO2
● C2H6
● HCN
● HNO3
Drawing Lewis Structures for Polyatomic Ions
Follow the same steps as before except:

In step 2, add the extra electrons to represent the charge of the ion. Ex) If the ion
is -2, add two extra e-. If the ion is +2, subtract two e-.

In the final Lewis diagram, include square brackets and write the charge outside
the brackets.

Practice:

OH-

NH4+
Electronegativity Difference
RECALL: Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to attract an electron. Group 7
elements have high electronegativity and group 1 elements have low
electronegativity.
To determine whether a bond is ionic or covalent, calculate the electronegativity
difference.

Bond Type Electronegativity Difference

Ionic 1.7 – 3.3

Polar Covalent 0.4 – 1.7
Non-polar Covalent 0.0
Polar vs Non-Polar
Polar: The greater the electronegativity difference, the more ionic the bond is.

● Bonds that are partly ionic are called polar covalent bonds and there is
unequal sharing of electrons

Nonpolar covalent bonds: equal sharing of the bond electrons

● arise when the electronegativities of the two atoms are equal

Practice
Using electronegativity differences, predict whether each bond will be ionic, polar
covalent, or non-polar covalent:

● Potassium and fluorine

● Copper and oxygen
● Carbon and fluorine
● Chlorine and chlorine
● Nitrogen and oxygen
Polarity
Polarity occurs when two atoms in a molecule share an electron unevenly.

One atom will have the e- more of the time and will have a partially negative
charge.

Another atom will have the e- less of the time and will have a partially positive
charge.