In your chemistry class, have you ever been asked to identify ionic or covalent bonds?
Continue reading to find out how to differentiate these chemical molecules in seconds!
Ionic Bonds
Ionic bonds ALWAYS consist of a metal and a nonmetal.
An example is NaCl (Sodium Chloride).
[Use the above picture as a reference to the following] :
Sodium Chloride has a metal (Na) and a nonmetal (Cl).
Metals give away electrons to remain positive, while nonmetals take electrons to fill their next energy level. Na has a +1 charge, since it is giving away an electron to Chlorine. Chlorine takes an electron from sodium, which gets it a -1 charge. Now, chlorine has 8 electrons, meaning it has filled up its octet (An octet is a set of 8 electrons that most elements have to fill their energy level).
Now that we know how to identify ionic bonds, lets move onto covalent bonds.
Covalent Bonds
Covalent bonds occur between 2 nonmetals who share electrons to help each other fill their energy level.
An example is H₂O (Water).
[Use the above picture as a reference to the following] :
Water has two nonmetals: Diatomic molecule H₂ and O.
Unlike ionic bonds, covalent bonds share electrons so that every atom can reach the next energy level. H₂ has 2 electrons (each hydrogen has 1 electron). Oxygen has 6 electrons. The two hydrogens share their 2 electrons with oxygen. The oxygen now has an octet. The two hydrogens, in return, get to share one electron each from the oxygen so that they too can gain the two electrons necessary to fill the first energy level.
Thank you for reading this post to learn about what ionic and covalent bonds are and the difference between them!
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