Chemical Bonding Year 9

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AQA GCSE Chemistry Your notes
Ionic, Covalent & Metallic Bond

Contents
Chemical bonds
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Compounds
Covalent bonding
Metallic Bonding
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Chemical bonds
Your notes
Combining atoms
Atoms combine with other atoms through the movement of electrons, which could be considered as
the “language of chemistry”
They do this in order to achieve a greater level of stability, which is reached when the atom obtains a full
outer shell of electrons
There are three types of bonding studied at GCSE
Ionic bonding
Covalent bonding
Metallic bonding
Ionic bonds:
Takes place when metals and non-metals react by transferring electrons
The atoms involved are oppositely charged particles (known as ions) in which electron transfer
occurs
The opposite charges attract through electrostatic forces
Covalent bonds:
non-metal atoms share pairs of electrons between each other
Metallic bonds:
This type of bonding occurs in metals and metal alloys (mixtures of metals)
Exam Tip
Intermolecular forces are not chemical bonds. Electron transfer or sharing does not occur, and no new
compounds are formed. Typically, intermolecular forces are around one-tenth the strength of a
chemical bond.
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Ionic Bonding
Your notes
What is an ion?
An ion is an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of electrons
This loss or gain of electrons takes place to obtain a full outer shell of electrons
The electronic structure of ions of elements in Groups 1, 2, 6 and 7 will be the same as that of a noble
gas - such as helium, neon, and argon
Negative ions are called anions and form when atoms gain electrons, meaning they have more
electrons than protons
Positive ions are called cations and form when atoms lose electrons, meaning they have more protons
than electrons
All metals lose electrons to other atoms to become positively charged ions
All non-metals gain electrons from other atoms to become negatively charged ions
Diagram to show the formation of a sodium ion
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Your notes
Diagram showing the formation of the sodium ion

Diagram to show the formation of a chloride ion
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Your notes
Diagram showing the formation of the chloride ion

The positive and negative charges are held together by the strong electrostatic forces of attraction
between oppositely charged ions
This is what holds ionic compounds together
Dot & Cross Diagrams
These show the arrangement of the electrons in an ionic compound
The electrons are shown as dots and crosses
The charge of the ion is spread evenly which is shown by using brackets
The charge on each ion is written at the top right-hand corner
Dot and cross diagram of sodium chloride
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Your notes
Dot and cross diagram of sodium chloride
Exam Tip
The number of electrons that an atom gains or loses is the same as the charge.
For example, if a magnesium atom loses 2 electrons, then the charge will be +2, if a bromine atom gains
1 electron then the charge will be -1.
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Representing ionic bonding

Ionic bonds can be represented diagrammatically using dot and cross diagrams Your notes
These are a simple and quick way to show the formation of an ionic compound
If there are more than two atoms, then hollow circles or other symbols / colours may be used to make it
clear
The electrons from each atom should be represented by using solid dots and crosses
The large square brackets should encompass each atom and the charge should be in superscript and
on the right-hand side, outside the brackets
For larger atoms with more electron shells, only the valence shell needs to be drawn
Forming the ionic bond in sodium chloride
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Your notes
Diagram representing how the ionic bond in sodium chloride is formed

Example: Sodium Chloride
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Sodium is a Group 1 metal so loses one outer electron to another atom to gain a full outer shell of
electrons
A positive sodium ion with the charge 1+ is formed, Na+ Your notes
Chlorine is a Group 7 non-metal so gains one electron to have a full outer shell of electrons
A negative chloride ion with a charge of 1- is formed, Cl –
The ions are then attracted to one another and held together by electrostatic forces
The formula of the ionic compound is thus NaCl
Dot-and-cross diagram of sodium chloride

Example: Magnesium oxide
Magnesium is a Group 2 metal so will lose two outer electrons to another atom to have a full outer shell
of electrons
A positive ion with the charge 2+ is formed, Mg2+
Oxygen is a Group 6 non-metal so will need to gain two electrons to have a full outer shell of electrons
Two electrons will be transferred from the outer shell of the magnesium atom to the outer shell of the
oxygen atom
Oxygen atom will gain two electrons to form a negative ion with charge 2-
The ions are then attracted to one another and held together by electrostatic forces
The formula of the ionic compound is thus MgO
Ionic bonding in magnesium oxide
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Your notes
Dot-and-cross diagram of magnesium oxide

Formula of ionic compounds
You may be asked to give the formula of an ionic compound from a given diagram
If it is a dot-and-cross diagram, then just count the number of atoms of each element
This is then equal to the empirical formula of the compound
If it is a 3D lattice structure, then look for how many ions are in the lattice
Write them down and balance the charges to find the formula for the compound
Exam Tip
When describing ionic bonding:
State how many electrons the metal loses
State the resulting charge of the metal ion
State how many electrons the non-metal gains
State the resulting charge of the non-metal ion
State that the oppositely charged ions are held together by strong forces of attraction in ionic
bonding
Careful: Sometimes you might need more than one metal ion, e.g. Na2O, or non-metal ion, e.g.
MgCl2, so be sure to say how many of each ion are needed in these cases
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Ionic Compounds
Your notes
Giant ionic lattice
The lattices formed by ionic compounds consist of a regular arrangement of alternating positive and
negative ions in which the ions are tightly packed together
Strong electrostatic forces of attraction are present between oppositely charged ions, holding the
lattice together
Electrostatic forces are strong, acting in all directions - they form the basis of ionic bonding
As a result of so many electrostatic forces existing in this lattice structure, ionic compounds have high
melting and boiling points
Giant ionic lattice of sodium chloride
The 3D ball & stick model is one way of representing the lattice structure of sodium chloride
The lattice arrangement exists in three dimensions which allows solid ionic compounds to form regular
shapes
Solid ionic crystals contain huge numbers of ions and so are referred to as giant ionic lattices
Ions are incredibly small - a single grain of sodium chloride contains trillions of sodium and chloride ions
- so models are used to represent the structure of the ionic compound
3D space-filling model of a giant ionic lattice
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Your notes
A 3D space-filling model showing an ionic lattice structure of oppositely charged ions
Representing Ionic Compounds

3D ball and stick model
3D drawings and models depict the arrangement of ions in space, showing the repeating pattern of
ions throughout giant ionic lattice structures (whereas 2D models only show the arrangement of ions in
one layer)
The 3D ball and stick model shows the arrangement of oppositely charged ions but represents ionic
bonds as sticks between ions; in reality an ionic bond is an electrostatic force of attraction that acts in
all directions around an ion
Another limitation of the 3D ball and stick model is that it incorrectly depicts space existing between
individual ions whereas the 3D space-filling model is more accurate (there is not much space between
separate ions)
It is difficult to represent the relative sizes of the ions in relation to each other correctly in any model
Exam Tip
Remember that in ionic lattice structures, positively charged and negatively charged ions are arranged
in an alternating pattern.
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Covalent bonding
Your notes
Formation of covalent bonds
What is covalent bonding?
Non-metal atoms can share electrons with other non-metal atoms to obtain a full outer shell of
electrons
When two atoms share pairs of electrons, they form covalent bonds
Covalent bonds between atoms are very strong
When two or more atoms are covalently bonded together, they form ‘molecules’
Covalently bonded substances may consist of small molecules or giant molecules
Weak intermolecular forces exist between individual molecules
For example, in methane, each molecule consists of four hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a
carbon atom, and in between individual methane molecules there are weak intermolecular forces
Shared electrons are called bonding electrons and occur in pairs
Electrons on the outer shell which are not involved in the covalent bond(s) are called non-bonding
electrons
Simple covalent molecules do not conduct electricity as they do not contain free electrons
Covalent bonding
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Your notes
Diagram showing covalent bonding in a molecule of chlorine (Cl2)
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Exam Tip
Your notes
A key difference between covalent bonds and ionic bonds is that in covalent bonds the electrons are
shared between the atoms, they are not transferred (donated or gained) and no ions are formed.
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Simple covalent molecules

Covalent substances tend to have small molecular structures, such as Cl2, H2O or CO2 Your notes
These small molecules are known as simple molecules
Small covalent molecules can be represented by dot and cross diagrams
You need to be able to describe and draw the structures of the following molecules using dot-and-
cross diagrams: hydrogen (H2), chlorine (Cl2), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), water
(H2O), ammonia (NH3) and methane (CH4)
The correct dot and cross diagrams for these molecules are shown below:
Covalent bonding examples

Hydrogen, H2
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of hydrogen

Chlorine, Cl2
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of chlorine

Oxygen, O2
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Your notes
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of oxygen

Nitrogen, N2
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of nitrogen

Hydrogen chloride, HCl
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of hydrogen chloride

Water, H2O
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Your notes
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of water

Ammonia, NH3
Dot & cross representation of a molecule of ammonia

Methane, CH4
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Dot & cross representation of a molecule of methane

Your notes
Exam Tip
Simple covalent molecules are small and can be separated into individual molecular units without
breaking any chemical bonds (although there will still be strong covalent bonds holding the atoms in
each individual molecule together.) Giant ionic and covalent structures form huge continuous
networks of atoms that are bonded together and cannot be separated into individual units without
breaking bonds.
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Polymers & giant structures

Not all covalent molecules are small; covalent molecules can also be very large Your notes
For example, polymers and giant covalent structures
Common polymers include polythene which is used extensively in plastic bags and polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) which has many industrial applications, most notably in the production of water pipes.
Formation of polyethene
You should be able to represent the covalent bonds in a variety of molecules, including simple
molecules (ethene) and polymers (polyethene)
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Some covalently bonded substances have giant covalent structures, such as graphite, diamond, and
silicon dioxide
These substances form giant crystal structures made from many atoms held together by covalent Your notes
bonds
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Limitations of models
Dot and Cross Diagrams Your notes
Advantages:
Useful for illustrating the transfer of electrons
Indicates from which atom the bonding electrons come from
Disadvantages:
Fails to illustrate the 3D arrangements of the atoms and electron shells
Doesn’t indicate the relative sizes of the atoms
Ball and Stick Model

Advantages:
Useful for illustrating the arrangement of atoms in 3D space
Especially useful for visualizing the shape of a molecule
Disadvantages:
Fails at indicating the movement of electrons
The atoms are placed far apart from each other, which in reality is not the case as the gaps
between atoms are much smaller
Ball and stick model
Ball and stick model of ammonia which illustrates the 3D arrangement of the atoms in space and the
shape of the molecule
2D Representations of Molecules
Advantages:
Displayed formulae are 2D representations and are basically simpler versions of the ball and stick
model
Adequately indicate what atoms are in a molecule and how they are connected
Disadvantages:
Fail to illustrate the relative sizes of the atoms and bonds
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Cannot give you an idea of the shape of a molecule and what it looks like in 3D space
2D representation of ammonia Your notes
Displayed formula of ammonia
Exam Tip
You should practise drawing dot-and-cross and 3D ball-and-stick diagrams as these do tend to come
up in the exams.
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Metallic Bonding
Your notes
Metallic structure
Metallic structure
Metals consist of giant structures of atoms arranged in a regular pattern
Electrons in the outer shell of metal atoms are lost
Individual metal atoms are held together by strong metallic bonds forming a lattice structure
This type of bonding occurs in metals and metal alloys, which are mixtures of metal
Within the metal lattice, the atoms lose their valence electrons and become positively charged metal
ions
The valence electrons no longer belong to any specific metal atom and are said to be delocalised
This means they can move freely between the positive metal ions and act like a “sea of electrons”
Metallic structure
Diagram showing the ways of representing a metal lattice structure with delocalised electrons
Exam Tip
Delocalised electrons are not transferred as in ionic bonding, they are merely moving freely in the
spaces in-between the nuclei of metal atoms.
Page 24 of 24

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AQA GCSE Chemistry Your notes

Ionic, Covalent & Metallic Bond

Diagram showing the formation of the sodium ion

Diagram showing the formation of the chloride ion

Dot and cross diagram of sodium chloride

Representing ionic bonding

Diagram representing how the ionic bond in sodium chloride is formed

Dot-and-cross diagram of sodium chloride

Dot-and-cross diagram of magnesium oxide

A 3D space-filling model showing an ionic lattice structure of oppositely charged ions

Representing Ionic Compounds

Diagram showing covalent bonding in a molecule of chlorine (Cl2)

Simple covalent molecules

Covalent bonding examples

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of hydrogen

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of chlorine

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of oxygen

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of nitrogen

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of hydrogen chloride

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of water

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of ammonia

Dot & cross representation of a molecule of methane

Polymers & giant structures

Ball and Stick Model

Displayed formula of ammonia

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