Review of the atomic structure

• All atoms have electron arranged in different energy levels or electron

shells around the nucleus
• The electron shell with the highest energy is the one called the
outermost shell
• in the different energy levels, there is room for 2 electrons in the first
energy level, 8 electrons in the second energy level and 8 in the third
energy level
• Atoms have no overall charge because the number of electrons is
equal to the number of protons
• Electrons are held together by strong electrostatic forces
Why do atoms react together
• Atoms become stable when their outermost shell is completely full of electrons
• The group 8 elements, the noble gases have their outermost shell completely
full so they do not react, they are stable
• All other atoms do not have full outer electron shells so the react to form
compounds
• When they react their outer electron shells become full of electrons and so
they become stable
• The elements in compounds in compounds are held together by chemical
bonds
• The chemical bonds can be formed in two ways:
1. when atoms lose or gain electrons
2. when atoms share electrons
Losing Electrons
• Metal elements react with other elements by losing electrons in the
outermost shell
• When an atoms lose electrons in the outermost shell they become ions
which will be positively charged
• They become positively charged because when they lose electrons the
number of protons becomes more than the number of electrons
• When this happens the outermost shell will be destroyed and the next
shell becomes the outermost shell
• This new outermost shell will now have a full electron configuration of a
noble gas
• The ion will therefore be stable (ions are more stable than their atoms
because they have the electron configuration of a noble gas)
The sodium atom (Na)
• The sodium atom loses one electron in the outermost shell when it
reacts to form the sodium ion (Na+)
• Electron configuration of sodium atom before losing its electron is 2,
8,1 and after losing the electron it forms the sodium ion with the
configuration of Neon, a noble gas 2, 8
Gaining Electrons
• Atoms also become ions when they gain electrons from other
elements
• When an atom gains electrons it becomes negatively charged
because there are more electrons than protons
• Their outermost shell becomes complete and therefore they become
more stable
• The gained electrons will be placed in the outermost shell therefore
the outermost shell will not be destroyed
The chlorine atom

• Chlorine atom has 7 electrons in its outermost shell and so it needs

only one electron in its outermost shell to be complete
• When it gains the electron it becomes a negatively charged chloride
ion (Cl-) which is more stable than the atom
Reactivity in Metals and Non-metals
• Reactivity in metals increases in metals as you go down the group because metals at
the top of the group are smaller
• The electrons in the outermost shell are very close to the nucleus and therefore are
strongly held in place by the attractive forces
• This makes it very difficult for them to be removed fro the shell
• The metals at the bottom of the group will easily lose electrons because the electrons
in the last shell are far from the nucleus so the attractive forces are very weak
• However, in non-metals it’s the opposite, reactivity decreases down the group
because smaller atoms at the top are more reactive
• This is because positively charged nucleus is so close to the outermost shell and so it
easily attracts any electrons from outside
• The larger atoms at the bottom of the group have greater distance between the
nucleus and the outer shell so the attractive forces are weaker there cannot easily gain
electrons from other atoms
Chemical Bonds

• When atoms react together to compounds, chemical bonds are

formed
• A chemical bond is a force that acts between two or more atoms to
hold them together as a stable molecule.
• There are two most common types of chemical bonds: ionic bond and
covalent bond
Ionic bonding
• Ionic bonds are formed when electrons are transferred from a metal
to a non-metal
• There are forces of attraction between the positively charged ion and
the negatively charged ion
• During ionic bonding a the metal loses electrons to the non-metal and
both form positively and negatively charged ions
Covalent Bond

• A covalent bond occurs when electrons are shared between two or

more non metals
• In covalent bonding, each non metal atom will share (provide) one or
more electrons to the other non metal atom
• By so doing, their outermost shells become full with electrons and
form stable compounds
Hydrogen and Chlorine Example
Hydrogen and Nitrogen Example