Matter and Reactions
Bonding & Structure
13 min · 2 worked examplesFree
Ionic, covalent and metallic bonding, and why the bonding decides whether something conducts, melts or bends.
After this lesson you can
- Tell ionic, covalent and metallic bonding apart
- Predict whether something conducts, melts high or bends from its bonding
- Explain why molecular solids melt so much lower than networks
Three ways to fill a shell
Ionic bonding: a metal gives an electron to a non-metal. Both end up with full shells and opposite charges, and the electrostatic attraction holds them in a rigid lattice. Sodium chloride is the standard example.
Covalent bonding: two non-metals share a pair of electrons, so both count it toward a full shell. Water, methane and every organic molecule are covalent.
Metallic bonding: metal atoms release their outer electrons into a shared sea that flows between fixed positive ions. Nothing owns a particular electron.
Those three arrangements explain most physical properties without any further chemistry.
In the full lesson
- Three ways to fill a shell
- Bonding predicts properties
- Intermolecular forces
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