ionic vs. covalent?

Question

hey guys
so i'm a bit confused about this whole covalent bond and ionic bond.

is it like. a covalent bond is stronger than an ionic bond intramolecularly but ionic is stronger than covalent intermolecularly?

please explain. and what exactly is a covalent network solid? is that the same thing as a covalent bonded molecules except somehow the intermolecular strengths are a lot stronger?

Answer 1

Don't know if I'm gonna cover all of it. Atomic and molecular bonds are formed by the sharing / exchange of electrons. An ionic bond is where an atom gives an electron to another atom. In general, an ionic bonds forms between those atoms that have a single extra electron and those atoms that are short one electron from have a full shell. So, sodium (Na) with one extra electron rapidly forms an ionic bond with chlorine (Cl) which is one electron shy of a full shell. Since the chlorine will rapidly take the electon away from the sodium, the intramolecular bond is weak.

On the other hand, covalent bonds are formed where atoms will share electrons. This generally happens between atoms that are not so close to having a full shell. For instance, most hydrocarbons are formed with covalent bonds (the carbon shares the electron with the hydrogens). By sharing the electrons, each senses that it has a full shell. Each atom desperately wants to keep that atom in order to maintain the full shell, so the covalent bond is very strong.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Ionic Vs Covalent

Answer 3

An ionic bond is one in which atom 1 gains an electron and atom 2 loses an electron. Atom 1 therefore has a negative charge (it's a negative ion), and atom 2 a positive charge (it's a positive ion). They are attracted to each other because of their opposite charges.

An ionic solid would be table salt, in which the sodium +1 ions form a lattice structure with the chlorine -1 ions.

A covalent bond is one in which the outer electrons of two atoms orbit BOTH atoms. Imagine the electrons orbiting in a figure-8 pattern, and you have some idea of what's going on.

A covalent network solid would be something like a transition metal, such as copper. The electrons in a transition metal are basically free to move anywhere in the solid. The orbits all overlap each other, so if you put an electron in one side, the electrons will move over easily, and you can take one out on the other side. This makes many transition metal very good conductors of electricity.

Answer 4

Covalent bonds are always stronger than ionic ones. Keep in mind that the strength of a bond is measured by how much energy it would require to break it. Covalent bonds require a lot more energy to break than ionic bonds require and hence are termed stronger. It's really no different than saying a the bonds in a bar of steel are stronger than those in a bar of wood, simply because it's easier to "break" wood than it would to break a bar of steel.

Ionic bonds are ALWAYS weaker than covalent. The simplest analogy I can come up with is dissolving salt in water, Sodium chloride. When sodium chloride dissolves, it dissolves as ions Na+, Cl-. The simple act of stirring a cup of water is enough to break down the ionic bond between the Sodium and Chloride. Now, take table sugar (or the simplest sugar glucose), when it dissolves, it dissolves as WHOLE glucose molecules, no dissociations at all. (So, salt water conducts electricity b/c of the dissolved charges, whereas a sugary water would not.)

Now, because ionic bonds are weak (require little energy to break), it also means they require little energy to form in the first place. So ionic bonds are more "flexibile" in a biological system for instance and this flexibility allows for amazing functions.

As a general rule, covalent bonds occur where there's a somewhat equal distribution charge between the 2 elements that will bond (ie between 2 non-metals). Whereas, ionic bonds occur where there is a huge difference in electronegativy (electranegativity is a fancy word for an element's 'tug' on electrons), so ionic bonds occur usually between a metal and a non-metal.

There's also a difference in terminology. "Stuff" bonded covalently are called molecules, whereas "stuff" bonded ionically are termed compounds.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

an uncomplicated thank you to try this, yet does not artwork all the time, is to look on the ionic can charge on all the climate in chemical. If all the positives and negatives cancel out, probability are you have a ionic bond. to illustrate HCl as against O2