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3.1.3 Bonding

SPECIFICATION
‒Ions
‒Ionic charge of elements
‒Molecular ions
‒Formula for ionic compounds
‒Ionic bonding
‒Ionic crystals
‒Covalent bonding
‒Metallic bonding
‒Giant molecular structures
‒ Bonding and physical properties
‒ Shape of simple molecules and ions
‒ Electronegativity and bond polarity
‒ Intermolecular forces
‒ Anomalous properties of H2O
‒ Variation of boiling points of alkanes
‒ High boiling point of alcohols compared to alkanes
‒ Variation in boiling points of hydrogen halides

Source: AQA Spec

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

‒   are held together in compounds by chemical bonds. Ionic bonding is due to the
Atoms
electrostatic attraction between positive and negative ion. Covalent bonding is due to
electron sharing between the atoms of a molecule. In this article, the principles of ionic
and various types of covalent bonding are discussed. Metallic bonding and physical
properties of bonding are discussed. Intermolecular forces between molecules and its
types are explained in detail.

A. Ions
When an atom loses or gains one or more electrons, it is called as an ion. Oppositely
charged ions combine to form ionic compounds. When an atom loses electron it forms a
positively charged ion called as cation. When an atom gains electron it forms a
negatively charged ion called as anion. Ion formation is illustrated in figure 1.

Figure 1: Ion formation

The ions are represented in the form of where X is the symbol of the element and Y is
the charge of the atom. For example, sodium forms ion by losing one electron. This ion
has 11 protons and 10 electrons. It can be noted that the charges in the atom are not
neutralised. Chlorine form ion by gaining an electron.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

B. Ionic charge of elements

The elements are arranged in periodic table according to atomic numbers and are
assigned with group numbers. Group number denotes the number of electrons in the
outermost shell. For example: Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Caesium and
Francium are group 1 elements. All these elements have one electron in the outermost
shell and lose an electron to enter the stable state.

Similarly, group 2 elements have 2 electrons in the outermost shell and lose 2 electrons
to form X2+ (X is the symbol for element) and enters the stable state.

Group 17 elements are called as halogens. Chlorine has atomic number of 17. So the
electronic configuration is 2, 8, 7. It needs one electron to reach stable configuration.
Hence, chlorine gains one electron and becomes Cl - ion.

+1 +2 +3 -3 -2 -1
Group 1 elements Group 2 elements Group 13 Group 15 Group 16 Group 17
Hydrogen (H) Zinc (Zn) elements elements elements elements
Silver (Ag) Copper(II) (Cu) Iron (III) (Fe)
Gold (Au) Iron (II) (Fe)
Tin (Sn)
Lead (Pb)
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

C.‒ Molecular
  ions
Molecular ions contain two or more ions that are bonded by a covalent bond. Few
examples of molecular ions are listed below:

Name of molecular ion Symbol

Nitrate
Carbonate
Sulphate
Hydroxide
Ammonium

D. Formula for ionic compounds

The formula for an ionic compound is written using the principle that oppositely charged
ions combine to form a neutral compound.

To derive the formula for sodium nitrate,

i. Identify the ionic charges of the ions formed by elements or molecules. Lithium for
Li+ ion and nitrate forms ion.
ii. These two ions combine to form a neutral compound. Hence, the formula for
Lithium nitrate is LiNO3.

Deriving the formula for sodium carbonate:

iii. Sodium forms Na+ ions. Carbonate ( has 2 excess electrons.
iv. These ions combine to form a neutral compound. Therefore, two sodium ions and
one carbonate ion combine to form sodium carbonate. The formula for sodium
carbonate is Na2CO3.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

E. Ionic bonding
Ions are formed when atoms lose or gain electrons. Metals lose electrons in its
outermost shell to form positive ions. Non-metals gain electron to form negative ions.
The electrostatic charge on the ion depends on the number of electrons gained or lost.
When metals and non-metals combine, the electrons in the outermost shell of metal are
transferred to the non-metal and both enter a stable configuration (of noble gases). For
example: Consider the ionic compound Lithium chloride (LiCl).
Electron configuration of Li (Atomic number=3): 2, 1
Electron configuration of Cl (Atomic number=17): 2, 8, 7
Lithium loses one electron in its outermost shell and Chlorine gains one electron to form
a stable configuration.
Electron configuration of Li+: 2
Electron configuration of Cl-: 2, 8, 8
The ions in ionic compounds are arranged in a regular pattern called lattice structure.
The electrostatic force of attraction between positive and negative ion holds the ions
together and thus form crystals. This force of attraction is very strong and hence, ionic
bonds are strong.

Figure 2: Ionic bonding

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

F. Ionic crystals
Ionic bonding is the strong electrostatic force of attraction between oppositely charged
ions in a lattice structure as shown in figure.

Figure 3: Giant ionic lattice

The stronger the ionic bond, the harder it is to break the bond. The strength of ionic
bonding depends upon the factors such as:
• Size of ions
Smaller ions have stronger ionic bonding. For example: KCl has a low melting point than
NaCl, as the ionic radius of Potassium ion is larger than that of Sodium ion. Hence, KCl
is larger in size than NaCl. Thus, it has weaker ionic bonding, and less melting point than
NaCl.
• Charge of ions
Higher the charge of the ions, stronger will the force of attraction and hence, stronger the
ionic bonding. The ionic bond of MgO is stronger than NaCl because Mg 2+ and O2- are
larger in charge when compared to Na+ and Cl-. As a result, the melting point of MgO is
higher than that of NaCl.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

G. Covalent bonding
Covalent bonds are formed when non-metals combine to form compounds. In covalent
bonds, two or more atoms are held together by the force of attraction between nuclei of
atoms (positively charged) and one or more pair of shared electrons (negatively
charged).
Single covalent bonding
Covalent bonds with a pair of shared electrons is called as single covalent bonding.
Chlorine is a non-metal with 7 electrons in its outermost shell. It needs one more
electron to reach the stable configuration. Hence, two chlorine atoms combine to form a
molecule where two electrons are shared.

Figure 4: Single covalent bonding

Multiple covalent bonding

Some atoms share two pair of electrons during the formation of covalent bonds, such
type of bonds are called as double covalent bonds. For example: oxygen has 6 electrons
in its outermost shell and needs two more to reach the stable configuration. Hence, two
oxygen atoms combine to form oxygen molecule where two pair of electrons are shared.
The outer pair of electrons that are not used in bonding are called as lone pair of
electrons.

Figure 5: Double covalent bonding

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

Some atoms combine to form molecules with three pair of shared electrons called as
triple covalent bonds. For example: nitrogen has 5 electrons in its outermost shell and
needs three more to reach the stable configuration. Hence, two nitrogen atoms combine
to form nitrogen molecule where three pair of electrons are shared.

Figure 6: Triple covalent bonding

Dative covalent bonding

Dative covalent bonding is formed when one atom provides the shared pair of
electrons in a molecule. There are two conditions for the dative covalent bond to be
formed:
• An atom with a lone pair of electron.
• Another atom that is electron-deficient that is, with an empty orbital to accept the
lone pair of electron.
For example: Ammonium ion NH4+ is formed when ammonia NH3 combines with
hydrogen ion H+. The hydrogen ion is electron-deficient. Ammonia has a lone pair of
electron that is shared by ammonia and hydrogen to form a dative covalent bond. In
the following diagram, the formation of ammonium ion is shown. It can be noticed that
the arrow mark in ammonium ion represents the sharing of lone pair of electrons. The
head always points away from the lone pair that forms the bond.

Figure 7: Dative covalent bonding

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

H. Metallic bonding
Metals are good conductors of electricity and non-metals are poor conductors of
electricity. Metals are bonded in giant lattice structure held together by strong
electrostatic force of attraction between positive ions and free electrons. Free electrons
are the valence electrons of the atoms. The strength of metallic bonding depends on
number of factors such as:
• Number of protons
The more the protons, stronger the force of attraction and stronger is the bond.
• Number of free electrons
The more the number of free electrons, the stronger the bond.
• Size of ion
The smaller the ion, the stronger the bond.

Figure 8: Giant metallic lattice

When potential difference is applied to both the ends of the metals, the free electrons
move away from the negative terminal due to repulsion. In other words, these free
electrons are attracted towards the positive terminal due to attraction. As the number of
free electrons increases, electrical conductivity increases too. Sodium, magnesium and
aluminium have one, two and three free electrons respectively. Hence, the electrical
conductivity increases from sodium to aluminium. The electrical conductivities of period
3 elements are given in the table below.

Element Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Relative Electrical
0.55 0.61 1.00 0.10 0 0 0 0
conductivity (Al=1)

The high melting point of metals is also because of metallic bonding. The strong force of
attraction between metal ion and delocalised electrons requires high energy to break.
The melting point increases with the increase in number of charges. The melting points
of period 3 elements are given in the table below.

Element Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Melting
371 923 932 1683 317 392 172 84
point (K)
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

I. Giant molecular structures

Carbon has four valence electrons. It is available in the form of diamond and graphite.
The giant molecular structure of diamond and graphite are shown in figure below.
Diamond is arranged in tetrahedral structure with four covalent bonds per atom. Graphite
has planar arrangement of carbon atoms in layer. It has 3 covalent bonds per atom in
each layer. A layer of graphite is called as graphene. The fourth electron in graphite
exists as free electron, which makes graphite a good conductor of electricity even
though carbon is a non-metal.

Figure 9: Molecular structure of

diamond and graphite

Similarly, silicon and silicon dioxide also has giant molecular structures. The force of
attraction between the atoms are strong and high energy is required to break the bonds.
The melting and boiling points of macromolecular structures are quite high.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

J. Bonding and physical properties

  Ionic Covalent Metallic

Electrostatic force of
Electrostatic force of
Sharing of electrons. attraction between metal
attraction between
Bonding Attraction between shared ions and delocalised
oppositely charged
pair and nucleus electrons
ions

Molecular structures
depend on polarity and
Structure Giant ionic lattice Giant metallic lattice
intermolecular forces of
the molecule.
Molecular: Low melting
High boiling and High boiling and melting
and melting points due to
Boiling and melting points. Energy points. Energy required to
weak intermolecular
melting required to break the break the electrostatic
forces.
points electrostatic force of force of attraction is high.
Macromolecular: High
attraction is high.
melting and boiling points
Non-polar covalent
molecules are insoluble.
Good solubility in
Ex: iodine.
water. Water is a polar
Molecules that can form
Solubility in molecule and attracts Insoluble Ex: Copper, Iron,
hydrogen bonds with
water the oppositely etc
water are generally
charged ion in the
soluble. Ex: ethanol
surface of the solid.
Macromolecular structures
are insoluble. Ex: diamond
Molecular: Do not conduct
electricity as it does not
In liquid state the ions
contain ions or electrons
are mobile and hence,
that are mobile.
Electrical conduct electricity. Good conductivity in both
Macromolecular: Diamond
conductivity Does not conduct liquid and molten state.
and sand (silicon dioxide)
electricity in solid
do not conduct electricity.
state.
Graphite conducts due to
presence of free electrons
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

K. Shape of simple molecules and ions

The electrons in the bond of a molecule such as lone pair of electrons, bonding pair of
electrons repel each other until the repulsive forces are minimised. The shape and bond
angles of a covalently bonded molecule depends on the number of pairs around each
atom and the nature of the pairs such as lone pairs or bonding pairs.
The force of repulsion depends on the nature of the pair of electrons. The order of forces
of repulsion is: lone pair-lone pair> lone pair-bond pair> bond-pair-bond pair.
For example, in water molecule, oxygen is singly bonded with two hydrogen atoms.
There are two bonding pairs and two lone pairs. The intensity of the forces of repulsion
between all the pair of electrons is shown in the figure below.

Figure 10: Structure of water molecule

Using this theory about forces of repulsion, the shapes of methane and ammonia are
given in the following figures.

Figure 11: Shape of methane molecule

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

Figure 12: Shape of ammonia molecule

In methane, the forces of repulsions are equal for the four pair of electrons. Hence, the
shape of the molecule is tetrahedron with H-C-H bond angle of 109.5⁰.
In ammonia and water, the forces of repulsion are not equal between the four pair of
electrons and hence, the tetrahedral shape is distorted.
Ammonia has a triangular pyramidal shape. The lone pair-bond pair repulsion is
greater than the bond pair-bond pair repulsion and hence, the bonding pairs come
closer together making H-N-H bond angle of 107⁰. In water the bond pairs are pushed
much closer because of two lone pair of electrons and forms a linear V-shape with H-
O-H angle of 104.5⁰.

In ammonium ion, NH4+, the dative bond acts as a

covalent bond and the shape is tetrahedral. Four
bonding pair of electrons repel equally to from a
tetrahedral shape that minimises the repulsions.
Some other examples of compounds with dative
bonding includes hydronium ion (H3O+) which is
formed from water and H+. Three bonding pair of
electrons and a lone pair of electrons are present in
this molecular ion. As, the lone pair of electrons has Figure 13: ammonium ion
greater repulsion, a pyramidal shape is formed.

Figure 14: Shape of hydronium ion

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

Molecular Bond
Electron structure Shape Examples
formula angle
BF3 Trigonal 120⁰ BCl3
Boron planar (F-B-F )
trifluoride  

BF4– ion Tetrahedral 109.5⁰ CH4, NH3+

(F-B-F )

CO2 Linear 180⁰ BeCl2

Carbon (O=C=O) (O=C=O)
dioxide

SF6 octahedral 90⁰

Sulphur   (F-S-F)
hexafluoride  
 

PF5 Trigonal 120⁰ and PCl5

Phosphorous bipyramidal 90⁰
pentafluoride
Consider the molecule BrF3, the
outermost configuration in Br is 4s24p5. It
requires an electron to reach stable
state. As a result, BrF5 has 3 bonding
pair of electrons and 2 lone pair of
electrons.
5 pair of electrons result in a trigonal bipyramidal shape. In this case, due to
the repulsion between the lone pair of electrons, the angle 90˚ between the
bonding pairs is reduced to 86˚. The angle between the lone pair of
electrons is 120˚. This shape is called as the T-shape. The shape of BrF 2+
and BrF4- is given below.

In BrF2+, there are 2 bonding pairs

and 2 lone pairs of electrons,
forming a tetrahedral shape. In
BrF4-, there are 4 bonding pairs and
2 lone pair of electrons forming a
square planar shape. In square
planar shape, the bond angle is
90˚.
Shape Num. of Num. of lone
The shape of the XeF2 (3 lone bonding pairs pairs
pairs and 2 bonding pairs) is Linear 2 0
given. The bonding angle is 2 3
180˚ Trigonal 3 0
planar
Tetrahedral 4 0
Pyramidal 3 1
Bent 2 2
Trigonal 5 0
bipyramidal
The shape of molecules based
Octahedral 6 0
on the number of bonding or
T-shaped 3 2
lone pairs of electrons is given
in the table. Square 4 2
planar
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

L. Electronegativity and bond polarity

Electro-negativity is the property of a particular atom bonded covalently, to attract the
bonding pair of electrons towards itself. The pattern of electronegativity from group 1 to
17 are:
• Increases across the period from left to right
• Increases up each group
Using above conditions, fluorine is the most electronegative element.
If atoms in a molecule are equal electronegativity, the pair of electrons are shared
equally, and these bonds are called as non-polar bonds. For example: O 2, N2, Cl2, etc.
When the bond is formed between two atoms of different electronegativity, the shared
pair of electrons are attracted towards the more electronegative atom and hence, these
bonds are called as polar or dipole. The electron distribution in this type of molecules are
asymmetric.
For example, the covalent bond between Hydrogen and fluorine in HF is polar. The
shared pair of electrons are attracted more towards fluorine because of its higher
electronegative value. The polarity of the bond is represented as shown in figure below.
Fluorine gets a slight negative charge as the shared pair of electrons are attracted
towards it. The direction of dipole is shown using arrow and generally points the partially
negatively charged.

Figure 15: Polarity of the bond

Electronegativity values are measured using Pauling scale (1 to 4). Elements of similar
electronegativity values form purely covalent bonds and when the difference of
electronegativity between two elements is more than 1.7, the elements form ionic bonds.
When the difference of electronegativity values is between 0.3 and 1.7, the elements
form polar covalent bonds. For example: HF.
The shape of the molecules also affects the polarity. Symmetric molecules such as
carbon dioxide cannot be polar because the individual dipoles cancels out. CCl 4 with a
planar structure is another example of non-polar molecule. CHCl 3 with a planar structure
is an example of polar molecule. The dipoles do not cancel out in CHCl 3.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

M. Intermolecular forces
The forces between the molecules in covalent bonds are called as intermolecular forces.
These forces are weak. There are three types of intermolecular forces:
• van der Waals’ forces (temporary dipole-induced dipole forces)
• permanent dipole-dipole forces
• hydrogen bonding
The relative bonds strengths of intermolecular forces are compared to ionic and covalent
bonds, the order of bond strength is:
van der Waals’s forces< permanent dipole-dipole forces< hydrogen bonding < covalent
bonding < ionic bonding
van der Waal’s forces
van der Waal’s forces are weak forces of attraction that hold the non-polar molecules
together. Due to constant motion of molecules, electron cloud on one side of the
molecule is more than the other side. This gives rise to a dipole. This dipole induces
dipole on neighbouring molecules.

Figure 16: van der Waal’s forces

The structure of crystals of iodine where the iodine molecules are held by weak can der
waals’ forces in shown in the diagram below.

Figure 17: van der waals’ forces in iodine molecule

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

Permanent dipole-dipole forces

The forces of attraction between two molecules having permanent dipoles are called
permanent dipole-dipole forces. This type of forces is found in polar molecules with
permanent dipoles. The δ+ of a molecule is attracted towards δ- of another molecule
and a weak attractive force is created. For example: In HCl, the electronegativity of
chlorine is more than that of hydrogen. As a result, chlorine gets slightly negative
charge and hydrogen gets a slight positive charge.

Hydrogen bonding
Hydrogen bonding occurs in between two molecules when one molecule is covalently
bonded with fluorine, oxygen or nitrogen (the most electronegative elements) and
another molecule having fluorine, oxygen or nitrogen with a lone pair of electrons.
Consider ammonia molecule where a nitrogen atom is covalently bonded to three
hydrogen atoms. This bond is highly polarised due the presence of nitrogen which
obtains a δ- charge. Hydrogen gets a δ+ charge that is high enough to form a bond
with the lone pair of electrons in the neighbouring nitrogen atom.

Figure 18: Hydrogen bonding

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

N. Anomalous properties of H2O

Water molecule has two hydrogen atoms and two lone pair of electrons per molecule. It
has an average of two hydrogen bonds per molecule.

Figure 18: Water molecule

Ice is less dense than water

Generally, solids are denser than their liquids as the particles are more closely packed in
solids. Water is an exception to this property. Ice is less dense than water. In ice, the
strong hydrogen bonds produce a lattice structure in which oxygen is bonded with four
hydrogen atoms in tetrahedral structure. Due to comparatively long hydrogen bonds, the
particles in solid state are slightly apart than in liquid state. This makes ice less than
water.

Relatively high melting and boiling points

Due to extensive hydrogen bonding, water has relatively high melting and boiling points
compared to the hydrides of other elements of the same group as shown in figure.
Therefore, the energy required to break bonds in H 2O is greater than hydrides of the
same group.

Figure 19: Energy required to break bonds of hydrides of group 16

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

O. Variation of boiling points of alkanes

The boiling point of alkane homologous series increases due to increase in the number
of electrons in bigger molecules. This increase in number of electrons increases the
size of induced dipole-dipole interactions (London forces) between the molecules.
The intensity of induced dipole-dipole interactions (London forces) in a molecule is also
dependent on its shape. Long chain alkanes have larger London force when compared
to that of spherical shaped branched alkanes. This is because of the larger contact
area between the molecules in long chain alkanes. As a result, long chain alkanes
have higher boiling points when compared to spherical shaped branched alkanes.
Even though pentane and 2,2-dimethylpropane have equal number of electrons,
pentane has higher boiling point when compared to 2,2-dimethylpropane due to higher
contact points in pentane as shown in the figure below.

Figure 20: Variation of boiling points

AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

P. High boiling point of alcohols compared to alkanes

Alcohols are polar molecules due to the presence of hydrogen bonding. Oxygen is a
more electronegative element compared to hydrogen. As a result, oxygen is slightly
negative and a positive charge is induced in hydrogen atom as shown in figure below.
The strength of polarity reduces as the length of carbon chain increases. However, due
to this polar nature, alcohols are soluble in water. As the length of carbon chain
increases, the solubility reduces.

Figure 21: Hydrogen bonding in alcohols

Due to the presence of hydrogen bonds, alcohols have higher boiling points when
compared to alkanes of relative molecular masses. For example: boiling point of
methanol is higher than that of methane. In other words, alcohols are less volatile
(tendency to vaporise) compared to alkanes of relative molecular masses.
AQA A-Level Chemistry 3.1.3 Bonding

Q. Variation in boiling points of hydrogen halides

The trend in the boiling point of hydrogen halides is shown in the figure below.

Figure 22: Boiling points of hydrogen halides

The boiling points rises from HCl to HI. This is due to the increase in number of
electrons. This results in increase of van der Waals’ forces. The boiling point of HF is
very high. This is due to the strong hydrogen bonding between HF molecules.