M O D U L A R S Y S T E M

CHEMICAL BONDS

Ayhan NAZLI
Murat DURKAYA
Yener EKÞÝ
Nuh ÖZDÝN
Muhammet AYDIN
Davut PÝRAZ
Necdet ÇELÝK
Uður Hulusi PATLI

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 Chemistry is an interesting and fundamental branch of science because
it gives us the chance to explain the secrets of nature. What is water? What
do we use in our cars as a fuel? What is aspirin? What are perfumes made
of? Many of these kind of questions and their answers are all part of the
world of chemistry. There is no industry that does not depend upon chemical
substances: petroleum, pharmaceuticals, garment, aircraft, steel,
electronics, agricultural, etc. This book helps everyone to understand
nature. However, one does not need to be a chemist or scientist to
understand the simplicity within the complexity around us.
The aim was to write a modern, up-to-date book where students and
teachers can get concise information about the structure of substances.
Sometimes reactions are given in detailed form, but, in all, excessive detail
has been omitted.
The book is designed to introduce basic knowledge about chemical
bonds. Chemists work everyday to produce new compounds to make our
lives easier with the help of this basic knowledge. In the design, emphasis
has been placed upon making the book student friendly. Throughout the
books, colorful tables, important reactions, funny cartoons, interesting extras
and reading passages are used to help explain ideas.
The authors would like to thank Orhan Keskin, Ali Çavdar and Ramazan
Þahin for their support and encouragement throughout the development of
this book.
We would also like to thank Tekin Çorbalý, Mustafa Yýlmaz and Okan
Çeliker for their thoughtful criticisms and helpful suggestions to the
manuscript which have been of such great value in developing the book.
Many people have assisted us in writing these books. We wish to
gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Osman Yýldýrým, Sani Demiri and
Tolga Baþbuð for their reviews and suggestions.
We are particularly grateful to our spouses and children for their
patience during the writing of the book.

The Authors
Chapter 1 5.2. Pi (π) BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Formation of the Pi (π) Bond in the Ethylene
CHEMICAL BONDS Molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Formation of the Pi (π) Bond in the Acetylene
Molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
1. ELECTRONEGATIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
6. RESONANCE STRUCTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
2. CHEMICAL BONDS AND THEIR FORMATION . .8
Orbital Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 7. EXCEPTIONS TO THE OCTET RULE . . . . . . . . .42
Electron Dot Representation (Lewis Symbol) . . . . .9 7.1. ELECTRON DEFICIENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Line Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 7.2. EXPANDED OCTETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Reading : How to Write Lewis Structures of Expanded Octet in the PF5 Molecule . . . . . . . . . .43
Molecules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 7.3. FREE RADICALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
2.1. IONIC BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
2.2. COVALENT BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Nonpolar Covalent Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Polar Covalent Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 PUZZLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Coordinate Covalent Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
3. HYBRIDIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Chapter 2
3.1. sp HYBRIDIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 BONDS IN SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS
3.2. sp2 HYBRIDIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
3.3. sp3 HYBRIDIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
1. METALLIC BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
4. COVALENT BONDING CAPACITY OF THE
SECOND ROW ELEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 2. IONIC SOLIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.1. BONDING CAPACITY OF LITHIUM . . . . . .28 3. NETWORK SOLIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.2. BONDING CAPACITY OF BERYLLIUM . . .28 Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Graphite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
4.3. BONDING CAPACITY OF BORON . . . . . . .29 4. DIPOLE–DIPOLE FORCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
5. VAN DER WAALS FORCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
4.4. BONDING CAPACITY OF CARBON . . . . . .30
6. HYDROGEN BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
4.5. BONDING CAPACITY OF NITROGEN . . . .31 Reading : How does iron work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
4.6. BONDING CAPACITY OF OXYGEN . . . . . .33 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
PUZZLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
4.7. BONDING CAPACITY OF FLUORINE . . . .36
The geometry of the molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
4.8. BONDING CAPACITY OF NEON . . . . . . . .37
ANSWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
5. DOUBLE AND TRIPLE COVALENT BONDS . . .38
5.1. SIGMA(σ) BONDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
 Energy INTRODUCTION
Atoms and ions are generally found connected together in groups. How are
+
these groups held together and what is responsible for bringing about the
H H 432,21 kJ/mol
distinctive properties of a substance?
energy is given off
What are the reasons that cause iron to be solid, water to be liquid and hydrogen
to be a gas at room temperature? Why is diamond hard while wax is soft? Why
do some solids melt at low temperatures while others melt at high temperatures?
H2
For example, carbon and silicon are found within the same group in the periodic
The energy of a molecule is usually less
table. Considering the trends in a group, we would expect the oxides of these two
than the energy of the atoms that form
the molecule. So when atoms form a elements, CO2 and SiO2, to display similar properties. However, SiO2 is a solid
molecule, they give off energy and with a quartz structure while CO2 is a gas that has great importance in the life
become more stable. cycle. What can be the reason for these two compounds being so different?

We are going to study the answers to these questions in this module.

We can represent groups of atoms or ions by models. For example, to hold two
ping-pong balls together they must be stuck or connected by a rod. There
likewise must be a connection between the sodium and chloride ions in table salt
Melting Point or between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water. This force of attraction that
Substances
(°C)
holds atoms or ions together is called a chemical bond.
Oxygen (O2) –218
A knowledge of chemical bonds is important to help us to understand chemical
Carbon dioxide (CO2) –56
reactions. In a chemical reaction, bonds are broken and new bonds are formed.
Ice (H2O) 0 During this process the total energy of the substances changes. For example, the
Sand (SiO2) 1640 energy of a molecule is generally less than that of the individual atoms that make
Iron (Fe) 1535
up the molecule.

Tungsten (W) 3410 During the process of forming a chemical bond, energy is given out, and this
energy is equal to that required to break the same chemical bond. To gain a
Table 1: Melting points of some
better understanding of chemical bonds we need to study electronegativity, a
substances
property that plays an important role in bond formation.

1. ELECTRONEGATIVITY
Electronegativity is a term which was first proposed in 1934 by the American
physicist R.S. Mulliken. It is especially useful in explaining the type of the bond
occurring between atoms.

Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract the bonding electrons

within a compound to itself. It depends upon the nuclear charge (proton
number) and the atomic radius of the atom. It is these factors that control the
ionization energy of the atom which in turn is related to the ability of an atom to
attract electrons.

6 Chemical Bonds
 Electronegativity
increases
1A 8A
1 2
1 H He
2.1 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A –

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 Li Be B C N O F Ne
1.0 1.5 2.8 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 –

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
0.9 1.2 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 1B 2B 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.5 3.0 –

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
4 K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
0.8 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.0

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
5 Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
0.8 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.6

55 56 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
6 Cs Ba Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
0.7 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.4 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.4

87 88 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116
7 Fr Ra Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Uuu Uub Uut Uuq Uup Uuh
0.7 0.9 1.3 – – – – – – – – – – – – –

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb
1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102

Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No
1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

Figure 1: Electronegativity values of the elements.

In the periodic table, electronegativity increases from left to right and from bottom to top.

Electronegativity does not have a unit. The most widely used electronegativity
scale today was derived by Linus Pauling. He used bond energy values in the
preparation of this scale.

According to this scale the most active metal francium and the most active non-
metal fluorine have electronegativity values of 0.7 and 4.0 respectively. In
general, the electronegativity values of metals are smaller than 1.7 and those of
non-metals greater than 1.8. Some noble gases do not have an electronegativity
value as they don't form bonds with other elements. Electronegativity values of
the elements are displayed in Figure 1.

As it is mentioned, electronegativity is dependent upon atomic radius. In the

periodic table, as a period is crossed from left to right, atomic radius decreases,
and hence the ability of an atom to attract valence electrons increases. However,
as you descend a group, atomic radius increases and therefore ability of an atom
to attract valence electrons decreases. So consequently, electronegativity
decreases from top to bottom in a group and increases from left to right across
a period.

Chemical Bonds 7
 2. CHEMICAL BONDS AND THEIR FORMATION
When atoms get closer to each other, they may become held together by forces
of attraction called chemical bonds. To explain why this happens, we need to
Bond Polarity understand more about the electron configurations of atoms.
The concept of bond polarity explains
the behaviour of atoms how they The noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn) which form group 8A in the periodic
share the bonding electrons between table are the most stable elements. They all have the ns2 np6 electron
each other. Electronegativity
configuration (except He which has the 1s2 configuration). The other elements in
difference of the atoms expresses
bond polarity in a molecule. the periodic table have a tendency to gain the electron configuration of a noble

For example, the electronegativity

gas and hence become stable. For this reason, atoms want to complete their last
differences between the atoms are: shell and gain the ns2 np6 configuration.
Li(1.0) – Cl(3.0) = 2 The tendency of atoms to make the number of their valence electrons eight, like
Mg(1.2) – Cl(3.0) = 1.8 the nobel gases, is known as the octet rule. There are two ways for the elements
H(2.1) – Cl(3.0) = 0.9 to gain their octet and obtain a noble gas electron configuration.
As a result;
1. Electron transfer
The highest electronegativity
difference is between lithium and 2. Electron sharing
chlorine and the lowest difference is
between hydrogen and chlorine. Chemical bonds are classified into two groups; transfer of electrons creates an
Therefore, the bond between Li and ionic bond while the sharing of electrons leads to a covalent bond. Before
Cl (Li–Cl) is the most polar. studying chemical bonds we need to become familiar with their representation.
Chemical bonds may be represented in several ways. We are going to study
orbital representation, electron dot representation and line representation. Let’s
examine these three types using the example of the fluorine molecule, F2.

Orbital Representation
The electron configuration of fluorine is 1s22s22p5 and its orbital representation is;

1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z

Two fluorine atoms join together to increase their number of valence electrons to
eight. When their half - filled 2pz orbitals overlap, a bond is formed. As a result,
each fluorine atom completes its octet and together they form the stable fluorine
molecule.

1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z

9F

9F
1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z

8 Chemical Bonds
Electron Dot Representation (Lewis Symbol)
This representation is also known as the Lewis symbol representation. In this
representation valence electrons are shown as dots around the symbol of the
element.

When we look at the electron configuration of the fluorine atom, we see that it has
seven valence electrons. Therefore the electron dot representation of fluorine atom
is F though it can also be represented by F , F or F

When two fluorine atoms combine with each other a F2 molecule forms.

F + F F F

The electron pair “:” between two fluorine atoms ( F F ) represents the bond
and other electron pairs represent unbonded electron pairs. Gilbert Newton Lewis
(1875 - 1946)

1A 8A Lewis was an American scientist

H He born in 1875 in Massachusetts,
2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A USA. He started his academic
Li Be B C N O F Ne career in 1912 and proposed the
theory of electron sharing in 1916
Na Mg Al Si P S CI Ar
which as we have seen is of great
K Ca Ga Ge As Se Br Kr importance to chemists. Because of
this theory, “electron dot
Rb Sr In Sn Sb Te I Xe representation” is also named
“Lewis dot structure”.
Cs Ba Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Besides chemical bonds, Lewis also
Fr Ra studied thermodynamics, isotopes
and light. He expanded his theories
Lewis symbols of group A elements. of chemical bonding and also
proposed the Lewis acid-base
theory.
Line Representation
Bond structure can also be represented by lines. Each electron pair is shown by
a line. In other words two electrons “:” are shown by a line “–”. So the line
representation of the fluorine molecule is F F . The line between the two
fluorine atoms represents the bond. Sometimes both the Lewis symbol and line
representation can be used in the same molecule. For example, the F2 molecule
can also be represented as F F

Chemical Bonds 9
 HOW TO WRITE LEWIS STRUCTURES OF MOLECULES

Have you ever wondered how to draw the structures of 4. To form a bond 2 electrons are needed.
compounds? For example, compounds such as CCl4,
So from step three, 8 / 2 = 4 bonds are going to be
PBr3 or ions such as SO42–. To draw the structural
formed.
formulae we will use the Lewis (electron dot) notation.

5. Identify the central atom. This is most often the atom

To learn how to construct Lewis structures for molecules
present with the lowest number. Write the skeleton
let’s examine the following rules by applying them to the
structure and then join the atoms by single covalent
CCl4 molecule;
bonds.

1. Determine the total number of valence electrons in In the CCl4 molecule, carbon is the centralatom,
the molecule. because it has the lowest number (1C, 4Cl).

The carbon atom is in group 4A of the periodic table, so Cl

it has 4 valence electrons and chlorine is in 7A group, so Cl C Cl
it has 7 valence electrons.
Cl
1 C atom : 1 · 4 = 4 valence electrons

4 Cl atoms : 4 · 7 = 28 electrons 6. For each single bond formed, subtract two electrons

Total number of valence electrons : 4 + 28 = 32 from the total number of valence electrons. Thus the
electrons needed to complete the octet of each atom
2. Determine the total number of electrons needed to in the molecule are found.
complete the octets (the number of valence In the CCl4 molecule the number of total valence
electrons should be 8, though for hydrogen it is 2) for electrons is 32. 8 electrons are used in bond formation.
the atoms. So 32 – 8 = 24 electrons remain.
1 C atom + 4 Cl atoms = 5 atoms Those remaining electrons are distributed around the
5 · 8 = 40 electrons chlorine atoms in a manner that would give each
chlorine atom 8 electrons. So 6 more electrons are
3. Subtract the number of electrons you obtained in needed for each chlorine atom to complete its octet.
step two from that of step 1.
Cl
This difference gives us the number of electrons that Cl C Cl
are going to be used in bond formation. Cl

40 – 32 = 8 electrons are going to be used in bond Thus each chlorine atom has 8 electrons and carbon
formation. also has 8 electrons (4 bonds · 2 = 8 electrons)

10 Chemical Bonds
Example 1: Writing Lewis Structure
Write the Lewis structure of the PBr3 molecule.
1. Determine the total number of valence electrons
1. P atom is in group 5A and Br atom is in group 7A.
/
1 P atom contains 5 valence electrons 2. Determine the total number of electrons needed
3 Br atoms contain 3 · 7 = 21 valence electrons. to complete the octets
Total number of valence electrons = 26 /
3. Subtract the number of electrons you obtained in
2. 1 P atom + 3 Br atoms = 4 atoms
step two from that of step one.
4 · 8 = 32 electrons.
/
3. 32 – 26 = 6 electrons are used in bond formation. 4. Divide the result of the step three by 2 to get the
number of bonds.
4. 6 : 2 = 3 bonds are formed.
/
5. Br P Br 5. Determine the central atom and then draw the
Br bonds between atoms.

/
6. 26 – 6 = 20 electrons should be distributed around 6. Subtract (number of bonds · 2) from the number
the atoms so that each would have 8 electrons. of valence electrons to find nonbonding
7. Br P Br electrons.

Br /
7. Distribute the remaining electrons to atom to get
octet.

1
For the HF molecule, show its;
a. orbital representation,
b. electron dot representation,
c. line representation (1H, 9F)

a. First show the electron configurations and orbital representations of the

hydrogen and fluorine atoms.

1H 1s1 9F 1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z

Chemical Bonds 11
 It is seen from their orbital structures that hydrogen and fluorine both need
to share 1 electron to complete their outer shells. Therefore the orbital
representation of HF molecule is;

1H 1s1

9F 1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z

b. The valence electrons of H and F are 1 and 7 respectively. So the Lewis

symbols of H and F are H and F . Therefore the electron dot
representation of HF molecule is H F

c. Since the electron dot structure of HF is H F , the line representation is

simply H F .

2.1. IONIC BONDS

Ionic bonds are formed by the transfer of electrons from one atom to another.
After the transfer of electrons, the atom that lost electrons becomes positively
charged and the atom that gained electrons becomes negatively charged. The
force of attraction that holds these atoms together is the electrostatic force
between their opposite charges.

Ionic bonds are formed between atoms that have an electronegativity difference
greater than about 1.9.

Let's consider the bond formation between sodium and chlorine, a metal and a
nonmetal. The electronegativity values of sodium and chlorine are 0.9 and 3.0
respectively. This tells us that sodium has a low ionization energy and a tendency
to give electrons while chlorine has a tendency to take electrons.

When those two atoms come together under suitable conditions, to complete
their octets, sodium gives one electron to chlorine.

11Na: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1

While forming compounds, all atoms
tend to acquire noble gas electronic 17Cl: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p5
configuration.

12 Chemical Bonds
 –
Na Na+ + e– and Cl + e– Cl
11 11 11 10 17 17 17 18

So the Na+ cation and Cl– anion are formed. +

Na10
charge of
element
Sodium loses its valence electron and its electron configuration becomes 11 electron
number
identical to that of neon: 1s2 2s2 2p6. Likewise, the valence shell of chlorine
becomes completely filled and its electron configuration resembles that of argon. Atomic number
As a result, during the reaction

–
Na + Cl Na+ Cl

an ionic bond is formed between the sodium and chloride ions.

The Na+ and Cl– ions can be considered as negatively and positively charged
spheres that attract each other. Since positive (+) and negative (–) charges form Na atoms Cl2 molecules
an electric field in all directions, the electrostatic force of attraction (ionic bond)
is not just in one direction. In the NaCl crystal, each Na+ ion is surrounded by
six Cl– ions and each Cl– ion is surrounded by six Na+ ions (Figure 2). Because
of this, the structure of NaCl is not a molecule but it is in the form of an ionic
crystal in which many ions are found together.

Cl– Na atoms Cl atoms

Na+
Na+ Cl--
NaCl ion pair
Figure 2: In the sodium chloride crystal, each sodium ion is surrounded by six
chloride ions and each chloride ion is surrounded by six sodium ions.

The degree of polarity of the

bond is proportional to the
electronegativity differences
between the atoms. Because
of this fact when the NaCl crystal
electronegativity difference
between the atoms is large, as Formation of the ionic bond between
it is between most metals and sodium and chloride ions in the NaCl
non-metals, ionic bonding is crystal.
the result.
Structures that contain ionic
bonds are found in solid A salt lake
phase at room temperature.

Chemical Bonds 13
 2
Compare the ionic character (polarity) of the bonds in NaBr and NaF.
The electronegativity values of the given elements are;
Na : 0.9, Br : 2.8, F : 4.0

The electronegativity difference between the Na atom and the Br atom is

2.8 – 0.9 = 1.9
The electronegativity difference between the Na atom and the F atom is
4 – 0.9 = 3.1
As the electronegativity difference in NaF is greater, the bond is more ionic than
in NaBr.
As a result, we see that the electronegativity difference between Na and F is
greater than that of Na and Br. Therefore the polarity of the bond in NaF is
greater than that of NaBr.

3
Show the formation of ionic bonds between the following pairs.
a. (3Li, 9F) b. (20Ca, 35Br) c. (13Al, 8O)

a. The electron dot structures of lithium and fluorine are Li and F so

lithium has 1 valence electron and fluorine has 7 valence electrons. To
achieve stability, lithium gives its single valance electron to fluorine and Li+
and F– ions are formed.

– 1+ 1–
Li + F Li+ [ F ] Li + Li F
3 3 9F9 3 2 9 10

Therefore lithium fluoride, LiF, is formed.

b. The electron dot structures of the calcium atom and bromine atom are ·Ca·
··
and · Br : respectively. It is seen that calcium has 2 valence electrons and
··
bromine has 7 valence electrons. To achieve stability, calcium loses 2
electrons and forms the Ca2+ ion. For bromine to complete its octet it needs
1 electron. Therefore each calcium atom should bond with 2 bromine atoms.
– –
Br + Ca + Br [ Br ] Ca2+ [ Br ]

As a result the compound calcium bromide with the formula CaBr2 is formed.

14 Chemical Bonds
 ··
c. The Lewis dot structures of the aluminum and oxygen atoms are ·Al · and · O ·
· ··
respectively.

Aluminum has a tendency to lose its 3 outer electrons to form the Al3+ ion
and oxygen has a tendency to gain 2 electrons to form O2– ion. The
aluminum atom has 3 valence electrons and oxygen atom needs 2 electrons
to complete its octet so two aluminum atoms (in total 6 electrons are lost)
form bonds with three oxygen atoms (in total 6 electrons are gained).
6e–
2–
2 Al + 3 O 2 Al3+ 3 [ O ]

As a result, aluminum oxide with the formula Al2O3 is formed.

Al Al

O O

2.2. COVALENT BONDS

+ New +
We know that the electronegativity difference between atoms must be greater
–
than 1.9 to form an ionic bond. But if the electronegativity values of the atoms
are similar, the tendency of the atoms to take or give electrons will also be similar.
The transfer of electrons is not possible between such atoms, so the atoms must a. Attractive forces
(between proton and electron)
share electrons to gain a stable octet. The bond that is formed as a result of
electron sharing is called a covalent bond. Covalent bonds are generally formed
between two nonmetals. –

Let’s examine the formation of a hydrogen molecule from two hydrogen atoms.
+ +
Since the electron configuration of a hydrogen atom is 1s1, it must gain one
New
more electron to reach the configuration of a noble gas (the 1s2 configuration of
–
the He atom). So both hydrogen atoms which will form the hydrogen molecule
need to take one more electron to be stable. Since there is no electronegativity
b. Repulsive forces
difference, none of them can take an electron from the other. Instead the (between proton - proton and
hydrogen atoms share their electrons and a covalent bond forms. The electron electron - electron)
pair is attracted by the nuclei (protons) of both hydrogen atoms (Figure 3a). But Figure 3: Formation of the covalent
counter to this the electrons and the two nuclei repel each other due to their bond between hydrogen atoms. When
similar charges (Figure 3b). Overall, the attractive and repulsive forces cancel out two atoms are far from each other, the
electrons of the atom are attracted only
and in this state, the energy of the hydrogen molecule is less than the total
by the nucleus of that atom. When the
energies of hydrogen atoms. In other words, the molecule is more stable than its atoms get closer, the electrons are
constituent atoms. attracted by both nuclei.

Chemical Bonds 15
 Depending upon the numbers of electrons that are shared, double and triple bonds
–
may be formed. For example to be stable the oxygen atom needs two more

H
electrons and so it forms a double bond with another oxygen atom (O O). The
+
nitrogen atom needs to gain three electrons to reach stability and so it forms a
triple bond with another nitrogen atom, (N N).

H atom 1s2 2s2 2p3

+ + 7 N7
N N N N
Nitrogen molecule
7 N7
1s2 2s2 2p3
+ H
Covalent bonds can be classified into three groups; nonpolar, polar and
– coordinate covalent bonds.

H atom Nonpolar Covalent Bonds

These are bonds that are formed between two atoms with the same
electronegativity values. In this kind of covalent bond, the attractive forces
between both atoms and the bonding electrons are equal so the bond is
–
nonpolar, meaning that the bonding electrons are shared equally between both
+ + atoms.
H H
For example;
–

The bonds in H2 molecule (H H), N2 molecule (N N), Cl2 molecule (Cl Cl)
H2 molecule
and O2 molecule (O O) are all nonpolar covalent bonds.
Formation of the covalent bond between In these molecules the electronegativity difference between the atoms which
hydrogen atoms.
form the bond is zero and therefore the charge distribution within the bond is
equal.

Polar Covalent Bonds

As the electronegativity difference between the atoms increases, the attraction of
the nuclei for the bonding electrons starts to differ. The atom with the greater
While a nucleus attracts the electrons of
another atom there are also repulsions electronegativity value attracts the bonding electrons more. But this increased
both between the electrons and the attractive force is not so great as to completely take the bonding electrons and
nuclei of the atoms. When the attractive form an ion. In these covalent bonds, since the atom having the greater
forces are greater than the repulsive electronegativity value has more attraction for electrons, the bonding electrons are
forces the atoms get closer. When the not shared equally. Thus electron density is not distributed equally between the
attractive and repulsive forces become atoms and the covalent bond has partially positive and partially negative poles. This
equal the electrons start to rotate around bond is called a polar covalent bond. In polar covalent bonds, the electron
both nuclei (not only around the nucleus density distribution depends upon the electronegativities of the atoms. For
of their atom) and a bond is formed. example, let's examine the covalent bond between the H and Cl atoms.

16 Chemical Bonds
In the HCl molecule, the shared electrons are attracted more by the chlorine H + Cl H Cl
atom (electronegativity value 3.0) than by the hydrogen atom (electronegativity
value 2.1). But the total transfer of electrons from hydrogen to chlorine does not H Cl H Cl
happen because the electronegativity difference between hydrogen and chlorine
is only 0.9, less than the 1.9 needed to form an ionic bond. H atom Cl atom HCl molecule

So between hydrogen and chlorine, a polar covalent bond having unequal Formation of the HCl molecule by
charge distribution forms. In this molecule, the chlorine end of HCl molecule hydrogen and chlorine atoms.
becomes partially negative, and the hydrogen end becomes partially positive.
However, the negative charge is equal to the positive charge and the molecule
overall is neutral.

i
– o
+ n
–
d+ d+ d– 2.1 i
c Na+ [ Cl ] Na+ CI–
d+ d– d– d+ d–

d+ d–
c Ionic bond
d– d+ d– h
d+ d–
d+
a
d– d+ r
– d+
d
d+ d–
d – a
d+ d
– c
d– d+ d– d+ d– t
d+
d
– d+ d–
e
d+ d+ Charges in polar r H d+ Cl d–
d+
d– d– d+ d– 0.9 H Cl
d–
d+
d+ molecules move to the i
opposite sides in an n Polar
c covalent bond
neutral field electrically charged field electrical field. r
e
a
s
Most chemical bonds are neither totally covalent nor totally ionic. As the e
0 s H H H H
difference in electronegativities between the two atoms increases, chemical
bonds change from nonpolar covalent to polar covalent and then to ionic as the Electronegativitiy Bond Nonpolar
difference covalent bond
polarity of the bond increases.
The ionic character of a bond increases
with increasing electronegativity
difference between the bonding
elements.
Polarity of Molecules
In a polar covalently bonded compound, the overall molecule might be polar or
non-polar depending on the geometry of the molecule. Consider CCl4 and H2O.
In both compounds, the elements possess different electronegativities so the
bonds are polar.
Cl
When we look at the overall molecular structure of carbon
Cl C Cl
tetrachloride, the net vectorial force in this molecule is zero as
its shape is symmetrical so CCl4 is a non-polar molecule. Cl
But in the water molecule the polar forces do not cancel one
O
another out therefore the molecule is polar.
H H

Chemical Bonds 17
 Coordinate Covalent Bonds
In the formation of certain compounds a covalent bond can be formed in which
both of the shared electrons come from only one of the atoms. These bonds are
called coordinate covalent bonds. Let’s examine the formation and bond
structure of the NH4+ ion which contains a coordinate covalent bond.

NH3 + HCl → NH4Cl

The Lewis dot structures of NH3 and HCl are H N H and H Cl

H
The hydrogen atom within a HCl molecule has shared its valence electron with
the chlorine atom which has the greater attraction for the bonding electrons.
This causes the HCl bond to be polar, with the hydrogen atom having a partial
positive charge. This hydrogen is then attracted towards the lone (unshared)
electron pair on the NH3 molecule to form a covalent bond. The HCl bond
breaks, leaving chlorine with both the bonding electrons.

In this new N H bond both of the shared (bonding) electrons come from
nitrogen.
+ –
H
H N H + H Cl H N H Cl
H H

+ –

NH3 HCl NH4Cl

Formation of the coordinate covalent bond.

In the NH4+ ion the N:H coordinate covalent bond is formed from the donation
of an unshared electron pair while the other three (N:H) bonds are polar covalent
bonds. Once it has been formed there is no difference between a coordinate
covalent bond and other bonds. In other words, all the N H bonds in the NH4+
ion are the same.

+ coordinate
H covalent bond In the NH4Cl structure while the NH4+ ion
– contains four covalent bonds (1 coordinate
H N H Cl
covalent bond and 3 polar covalent bonds):
there is an ionic bond between the NH4+ and
H ionic bond
polar covalent bonds Cl– ions.

18 Chemical Bonds
 Both Ionic and Covalent
Some molecules contain both ionic and covalent bonds. For example we can draw
the molecular structure of NaNO3 and CuSO4, as

–
O O O
+ – 2+
Na O N and Cu S covalent
–
O O O
ionic covalent ionic

Compare the polarity and ionic character of the bonds formed between the
following pairs. (Refer to Figure 1)

H I, Si F, N H, Rb F

Let’s find the electronegativity values of the elements by using figure 1 and then
calculate the electronegativity differences.

I H F Si N H F Rb
2.5 – 2.1 = 0.4 4.0 – 1.8 = 2.2 3.0 – 2.1 = 0.9 4.0 – 0.8 = 3.2

As we know, the polarity of the bonds depends upon the electronegativity

differences.
Let’s arrange the bonds according to their electronegativity difference;

Bond : H I N H Si F Rb F

Electronegativity difference : 0.4 0.9 2.2 3.2

Here the H I bond has the lowest electronegativity difference while the Rb F
bond has the highest. So amongst these bonds, the H I molecule is the least
polar and has the least ionic character, and the Rb F bond is the most polar and
has the most ionic character.
The increasing order of the ionic character of these bonds are;
H I<N H < Si F < Rb F

Chemical Bonds 19
 5
Identify the types of the bonds in the NH3BCl3 molecule which is formed by the
reaction NH3 + BCl3 → ...........

The electron dot structures of NH3 and BCl3 molecules are

HNH and Cl B Cl respectively.

N Cl

So there are 3 (N H) polar covalent bonds in the ammonia (NH3) molecule

and 3 (B Cl) polar covalent bonds in the boron trichloride (BCl3) molecule.
Boron which is the Cl
central atom in boron Cl Cl B Cl
trichloride has no Cl B Cl
H N H + Cl B Cl
unshared electrons. H N H
H Cl H N H
H
Therefore it cannot
donate electrons to H
form a bond. But nitrogen (N) in the ammonia molecule has 1 unshared electron
pair and it can therefore form a coordinate covalent bond with boron.

As a result, the NH3BCl3 molecule contains 6 polar covalent bonds

[3 (N H) and 3 (B Cl)]
and 1 coordinate covalent bond (N–B), so in total there are 7 covalent bonds.

6
What kinds of chemical bonds do the following compounds contain?
Explain briefly. a. H2O b. KCl c. Na3PO4

a. In the H2O molecule, between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms (both
nonmetals) there are polar covalent (O H) bonds.
covalent
O bond
H H

b. In the KCl structure, potassium (K) is a metal and chlorine (Cl) is a nonmetal.
So there is an ionic bond between K and Cl due to their high electronegativity
differences.
K+ Cl–
ionic bond

20 Chemical Bonds
c. In the Na3PO4 compound between the three Na+ ions and the PO43– ion there
are ionic bonds. In the structure of the PO43– ion there are polar covalent
bonds which are formed between the P and O nonmetal atoms.
covalent
Na+ O– bond
Na+ O– P O
Na+ O–
ionic bond

As a result, the Na3PO4 compound contains both ionic and polar covalent
bonds.

3. HYBRIDIZATION
The mixing of different orbitals which have closer energy levels, to form new
orbitals with the same energy level is called hybridization. The new orbitals
formed at this new energy level are called hybrid orbitals.
+
Hybridization occurs between two or more different types of orbitals (generally s,
p or d orbitals). For example, there are three types of hybrid orbitals which may
occur between the s and p orbitals, these are named as sp, sp2 and sp3 hybrid 100 mL blue dye 100 mL yellow dye

orbitals.

It is not possible to form hybrid orbitals between the same type of orbital. For
example s orbitals cannot form ss hybrid orbitals and p orbitals cannot form pp
hybrid orbitals.

Group 2A elements of the periodic table can undergo sp hybridization, group 3A

elements can undergo sp2 hybridization and group 4A elements can undergo sp3
hybridization. Molecules formed by atoms of these groups generally contain
bonds with hybridized orbitals. Since hybrid orbitals overlap with each other, 200 mL of green dye

stable molecules are formed. Maximum overlapping often occurs between the When 100 mL of blue dye is mixed with
hybrid orbital of one atom and the orbital of another atom, molecules formed in 100 mL of yellow dye 200 mL of green
this way have lower energies. The energy needed for hybridization is balanced dye is formed. At the same way, when s
and p orbitals are mixed (hybridized),
against the energy which is released during bond formation.
hybrid orbitals which have both the
Hybridization occurs during the formation of a chemical bond. It is not possible characteristics of s and p orbitals are
formed.
to occur in an individual atom. Hybrid orbitals play an important role in
determining the geometric shape of a molecule.

Now let’s study sp, sp2 and sp3 hybridization in detail.

Chemical Bonds 21
 Energy 3.1. sp HYBRIDIZATION
2p0 Let’s look at the ground state electron configuration and orbital diagram of the
beryllium atom (4Be) which is the first element in group 2A.
L

4
Be
2s2
1s2 2s2 2p0x 2p0y 2p0z
K 1s2

a. Beryllium atom in its ground state level As it does not have any unshared electrons, beryllium would not be expected to
form a covalent bond. But experimentally it is found that beryllium is able to form
Energy
two covalent bonds. To form these bonds one electron moves from the 2s orbital
2p1
to the 2p orbital leaving the atom in an excited state with two unpaired electrons
(Figure 4b).
L

2s1 z z
K 1s2

b. Beryllium atom in an excited state

x x
Energy
y y
2p0
one s orbital one p orbital

L sp
sp hybrid orbital z z
2s 0

K 1s2
x x
c. sp hybridization in the beryllium atom
y y
Figure 4: Energy changes during the two sp hybrid orbitals
formation of sp hybrid orbitals in the
beryllium atom.
z

180°

y
The orientation of sp hybrid
orbitals is linear

Two sp hybrid orbitals are formed as a result of mixing one s orbital with one p
orbital. The energy of the sp hybrid orbitals is greater than the s orbital but less
A model of the sp hybrid orbital than the p orbitals. Each sp orbital has 50% s character and 50% p character.

22 Chemical Bonds
 7
Show the hybridization of the beryllium atom when it bonds with fluorine.

4Be, 9F

4Be 1s2 2s2 2p0

ground state (normal state)
px py pz

4Be* 1s2 2s1 2p1

excited state
p1x py pz

4Be 1s2 sp 2p0

hybridized state
py pz

9F ........ ........ 9F

2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z 2p1z 2p2y 2p2x 2s2

As it is shown, Be forms two bonds with two different F atoms:

(p sp) (sp p)

In F Be F, the two bonds are formed by the overlap of sp orbitals with p

orbitals.

3.2. sp2 HYBRIDIZATION

Let’s look at the ground state electron configuration and orbital diagram of
Boron (5B) which is the first element of group 3A.

5
B
1s2 2s2 2p1x 2p0y 2p0z

It is found experimentally that boron can form three covalent bonds. But as it has
only one unpaired valence electron in the ground state, it appears only to be able
to form one bond. To create three unpaired electrons, one electron in the 2s
orbital is promoted to the 2py orbital. To form three identical bonds with the
same energy, two p and one s orbitals mix to give three sp2 orbitals. These three
identical and half filled sp2 orbitals enable boron to form three identical bonds.

Chemical Bonds 23
 Energy In the excited state of boron, one of the valence electrons is in the s and the other
two electrons are in the p orbitals. So if hybridization did not occur, the three
2p1
bonds that would form would have different lengths and different properties.
L z z z

2s2
K 1s2 x x x

a. Boron atom in its ground state level.

y y y

Energy one s orbital two p orbitals

2p 2

z z z

x x x
2s1
K 1s 2
y y
y
b. Boron atom in an excited state.
three sp2 hybrid orbitals
Energy
z
2p0
sp2
L
sp2 hybrid orbitals
x

2s0
Three sp2 hybrid orbitals are
120°
K 1s2 formed as a result of mixing one s
y orbital with two p orbitals. Each sp2
c. sp2 hybridization in the boron atom.
The orientation of three sp2 hybrid hybrid orbital has 33.3% s and
orbitals is trigonal planar 66,7% p character.
Energy changes during the formation of
sp2 hybrid orbitals in the boron atom.

8
Show the hybridization of the boron atom when it bonds with fluorine. 5B, 9F

5B 1s2 2s2 2p1

ground state (normal state)
A model of sp2 hybrid orbitals px py pz

5B 1s2 2s1 2p2

excited state
px py pz

24 Chemical Bonds
 2px2 2py2 2pz1 2pz1 2py2 2px2
9F ...... 2s2 2s2 ...... 9F

5B ...... 1s2 sp2

hybridized state
pz

2pz1 2py2 2px2 2s2 ...... 9F

So boron forms three bonds with three fluorine atoms:

p)
Energy
B there is overlap of the sp2 hybrid (sp2
2 ) 2p2
F F orbitals with the p orbitals of F. sp
(p
(sp 2 L
p)
2s2
K 1s2

a. Carbon atom in its ground state

3.3. sp3 HYBRIDIZATION
Lets look at the ground state electron configuration and orbital diagram of Energy
carbon (6C) which is the first element in group 4A. 2p3

6
C L
1s2 2s2 2p1x 2p1y 2p0z
2s1
In this case since carbon has only two unpaired electrons, it seems likely that it will K 1s2
only form only two covalent bonds, but it is known that carbon can form four
b. Carbon atom in an excited state
covalent bonds. To form four bonds, one electron is promoted from the 2s orbital
to the 2pz orbital. Then the one 2s orbital and three 2p orbitals mix together to
Energy
form four new sp3 hybrid orbitals as shown in Figure 5. So in this case of
hybridization, three p and one s orbital combine to give four identical sp3 orbitals. 2p0
sp3
The carbon atom can also undergo sp2
and sp hybridization. Later we will study L sp3 hybrid orbital

the sp and sp2 hybridization of carbon when it forms double and triple bonds.
2s0
K 1s2

c. sp3 hybridization in the carbon atom

Figure 5: Energy changes during the

formation of the sp3 hybrid orbitals in a
A model of sp3 hybrid orbitals. carbon atom.

Chemical Bonds 25
 z
z z z

x x x x

y y y y

one s orbital three p orbitals

z
z z z

x x x x

y y
y y

four identical sp3 hybrid orbitals

109.5°

y
The orientation of four sp3 hybrid orbitals
is tetrahedral

Four sp3 hybrid orbitals are formed as a result of mixing one s orbital with three p
orbitals. Each sp3 hybrid orbital has 25% s and 75% p character.

9
Show the kinds of hybridization when the carbon atom bonds with chlorine.
6C, 17Cl

Electron configuration of the carbon atom:

6C 1s2 2s2 2p2

ground state (normal state)
px py pz

when it is excited:

26 Chemical Bonds
6C* 1s2 2s1 2p3
excited state
px py pz

if 2s and three 2p orbitals mix to form four hybrid orbitals, they can overlap
with the unpaired p electrons in four different chlorine atoms:

3s2 3px2 3py2 3pz1 3pz1 3py2 3px2 3s2

17Cl ...... ...... 17Cl

6C 1s2
sp3 hybrid orbitals

17Cl ...... ...... 17Cl

3s2 3px2 3py2 3pz1 3pz1 3py2 3px2 3s2

So the carbon atom forms four bonds with four chlorine atoms.

The molecular structure is: The overlap of orbitals

Cl
p)

Cl C Cl
(sp3

(sp3 p)
Cl

(p sp3)
(sp3
p)

4. COVALENT BONDING CAPACITY OF THE

SECOND ROW ELEMENTS
The number of covalent bonds that an element can form is equal to the number
of unpaired valence electrons of that element.

Therefore the number of half-filled orbitals indicates the number of bonds that
the atoms can form. Elements in the same group of the periodic table exhibit
similar chemical properties as they have the same number of valence electrons.
We will explain bond formation of one representative element from each main
group. The other elements found in the same group generally form bonds in a
similar way.

Chemical Bonds 27
 The second row of the periodic table consists of lithium (Li), beryllium (Be),
boron (B), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), fluorine (F) and neon (Ne). Now
let’s examine the compounds of these elements form with hydrogen.
The VSEPR (Valence shell 1A 8A
electron pair repulsion) Model 1 2

1 H He
Atom are bonded to each other in 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
molecules by the sharing of pairs of 2 Li Be B C N O F Ne
valence shell electrons. But electron 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

pairs repel one another. Therefore, 3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar

electron pairs try to stay out of each 19 20 31 32 33 34 35 36

4 K Ca Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
other’s way as far as possible.
37 38 49 50 51 52 53 54
The best arrangement of a given 5 Rb Sr In Sn Sb Te I Xe
number of electron pairs is the one
55 56 81 82 83 84 85 86
that minimizes the repulsion among 6 Cs Ba Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
them. This simple idea is the basis of 87 88

the VSEPR. This model is used to 7 Fr Ra

predict shapes of molecules.
Second row elements of the periodic table.

4.1. BONDING CAPACITY OF LITHIUM

Lithium is a metal so it tends to form an ionic bonds with non-metals. The
compound lithium hydride, LiH, is made up of crystals with a cubic lattice
structure.

4.2. BONDING CAPACITY OF BERYLLIUM

The electron configuration of Be is 1s2 2s2, it has two valence electrons in its
ground state. It should not be able to form a covalent bond as the electrons are
paired.

To form a bond, the filled 2s orbital and one of the 2p orbitals combine and give
two half-filled sp orbitals.

1s2 2s2 2p0

4Be

sp hybrid
1s2 orbitals
4Be

Therefore beryllium can have two half filled orbitals and two (unpaired electrons)
in its excited state and form the BeH2 molecule with hydrogen. The bond
structure of BeH2 is given below;

28 Chemical Bonds
 1H

4Be

180°
1H
H H
H Be H H Be H BeH2 Be

The BeH2 molecule is formed between Be and H atoms. BeH2 molecule. The direction of orbitals
is linear.
Because of the electronegativity difference (0.6) between Be (1.5) and H (2.1),
the Be H bonds are polar.

The geometry of the molecule

The two hydrogen atoms having the same electronegativity value cause the BeH2 H Be H
molecule to be nonpolar. This is because the molecule is symmetrical and the
net vectorial force applied on Be atom by the bond dipoles is zero. The shape of the BeH2 molecule.

4.3. BONDING CAPACITY OF BORON

Although the boron atom (with electron configuration 1s2 2s2 2p1) has three
valence electrons, only one of them is unpaired in the ground state.

To increase the number of unpaired electrons, one electron is promoted from the
2s orbital to a 2p orbital. Then the 2s and two 2p orbitals mix to form three
identical sp2 hybrid orbitals.

1s2 2s2 2p1

5B ground state

sp2 hybrid
1s2 orbitals
5B

As a result of hybridization, boron can form three bonds and so the BH3 H
molecule is formed with hydrogen.

B forms the BH3 molecule with H.

120
°

1H 1H
0
12

B
°

H
H
120°
5B HB H B BH3 H H
H H
In the BH3 molecule the orientation of
1H
orbitals is trigonal planar.

Chemical Bonds 29
 Because of the electronegativity difference (0.7) between B(2.8) and H(2.1),
B H bonds are polar.
H The geometry of the molecule
The geometry of the BH3 molecule is trigonal planar. The net vectorial force
0°

120
12

B applied on the boron atom by the three polar bonds is zero due to the
°

symmetrical shape, so the molecule is nonpolar.

H 120° H
Many of the compounds of the other elements in group 3A have similar bond
The shape of the BH3 molecule. structure and geometry to the BH3 molecule.

10
Explain the bond structure of the BCl3 molecule by using electron dot structure.
(5B , 17Cl)

Boron undergoes sp2 hybridization and forms

three identical sp2 hybrid orbitals containing Cl
three unpaired electrons. Chlorine has 7 valence Cl B Cl B
electrons of which just one of them is unpaired. Cl Cl Cl
Unpaired electrons are shared by three chlorine
atoms and a boron atom to form BCl3.

4.4. BONDING CAPACITY OF CARBON

H The carbon atom (6C) has the electron configuration of 1s22s22p2. There are 4
valence electrons, of which only two are unpaired in the ground state. During the
formation of carbon compounds, one 2s and three 2p orbitals combine to give
four identical sp3 orbitals by the
°
9,5

1H 1H
10

C promotion of an electron from the 2s

H orbital to a 2p orbital. These 4
H
unpaired orbitals then mix to form four 6C
identical sp3 hybrid orbitals.
H
1H 1H
1s2 2s2 2p2
The orientation of orbitals in CH4
6C Between C and H the CH4
molecule is tetrahedral.
molecule is formed.
1s2 sp3 hybrid orbitals
H
H
6C
HC H H C H CH4
H
H

30 Chemical Bonds
As a result of this hybridization, carbon forms four bonds with hydrogen to form
H
the CH4 molecule.

10
The geometry of the molecule

9.5
C

°
The shape of the CH4 molecule is tetrahedral. A tetrahedral orientation of equal H H
bonds (which are formed from the overlap of the identical sp3 hybrid orbitals and
the hydrogen 1s orbitals) gives a bond angle of 109.5° (Figure 6). H

In the CH4 molecule the net vectorial force applied on carbon atom by the four Figure 6: The shape of the CH4 molecule.
polar bonds is zero. This is because of the symmetry of the molecule, hence it is
non–polar.

11
Explain the bond structure of the CF4 molecule by using electron dot structure.

Carbon undergoes hybridization and

forms four identical sp3 hybrid orbitals. F F
Only one of seven valence electrons in F C F F C F
fluorine is unpaired. Four identical half F F
filled sp3 hybrid orbitals of carbon are
filled with the four unpaired electrons of four fluorine atoms.

In CF4 the bonds between carbon and fluorine are polar. The shape of the
molecule is tetrahedral hence the attractive forces of the four dipoles (one for each
polar bond) cancel each other out. Therefore the molecule is non-polar.

4.5. BONDING CAPACITY OF NITROGEN

The electron configuration of nitrogen 1s22s22p3 shows that there are five
valence electrons. Three of them are unpaired in this state so nitrogen can form
three bonds, however, hybridization still occurs, with the s and p orbitals mixing
to form four sp3 hybrid orbitals.
N
H
1s2 sp3 hybrid orbitals H
107°

7N
H
If nitrogen uses only its p orbitals in bond formation, the angle between N–H
The orientation of the orbitals in the NH3
bonds would be 90°. However, compounds prefer formations in which electrons
molecule is trigonal pyramidal.
are as far apart as possible. For ammonia this is made possible by forming a
tetrahedral structure in which the angle between the bonds (N–H) is 107°. This
is only possible by undergoing sp3 hybridization.

Chemical Bonds 31
 Energy Nitrogen forms three bonds by using its three half-filled sp3 hybrid orbitals to
2p3
form the NH3 molecule with hydrogen as shown in Figure 7.

L 1H 1H

2s2
7N
K 1s2

a. The ground state energy level of the

1H
nitrogen atom

Energy Between N and H atoms

2p0 HNH N NH3 the NH3 molecule forms

sp3 H
H H
L sp3 hybrid orbital H
Because of the electronegativity difference (0.9) between N(3.0) and H(2.1),
2s0 N H bonds are polar.
K 1s2
The geometry of the molecule
b. sp3 hybridization in the nitrogen atom
In ammonia, three of the five sp3 electrons take part in the bond formation of
Figure 7: Formation of sp3 hybrid orbitals N H bonds.
in the nitrogen atom.
The other two electrons are found around the nitrogen atom as a free electron
pair. Since the free electron pair does not form a bond, it occupies a larger
volume in space then the bonding electron pairs between the nitrogen and
hydrogen atoms.
Due to the greater repulsive effect of the free electron pair in the NH3 molecule,
N the N H bonds get pushed together slightly. So the molecular geometry of
H H
107° NH3 molecule is different from that of the BH3 molecule in that it is trigonal
H pyramidal. Unlike the non-polar BH3, the NH3 molecule is polar. The angles
between the nitrogen – hydrogen bonds are 107° (Figure 8) in NH3.
Figure 8: The shape of the NH3 molecule
is trigonal pyramidal.
12
Show the bond structure of the nitrogen molecule by using an orbital diagram,
electron dot structure and line representation.

Nitrogen has one filled and three half filled valence orbitals. Two nitrogen atoms
form three bonds with their three half-filled orbitals. The remaining free pairs of
electrons (one on each N atom) are placed around the nitrogen atoms.

7N

N N N N N2
7N

32 Chemical Bonds
 13
Explain the bonding and molecular structure of the NF3 molecule by using
electron dot representation. (7N, 9F)

The valence electrons of nitrogen and fluorine are five and seven respectively. In
this case, to complete its octet nitrogen needs three more electrons and fluorine
needs one more electron. Therefore one nitrogen atom combines with three
fluorine atoms.

FNF N
F
F F F

The N F bonds are polar covalent. Due to the repulsive force of the lone pair
electrons on the nitrogen atom the shape of the NF3 molecule is trigonal
pyramidal. The dipole forces do not cancel each other out so the molecule is
polar.

Energy
4.6. BONDING CAPACITY OF OXYGEN
2p4
Oxygen (8O) has six valence electrons. Two of them are unpaired and the others
are paired when the atom is in its ground state. However, advanced studies have L
shown that all four valence orbitals of oxygen are identical so when oxygen reacts
2s2
with another element it combines its one 2s and three 2p orbitals to form four
K 1s2
identical sp3 orbitals. Two of the six valence electrons of oxygen take part in bond
formation. a. Energy levels of the oxygen atom in
its ground state.
As it was mentioned in the formation of the NH3 molecule, compounds prefer
configurations in which the electron pairs are as far apart as possible. Therefore Energy

oxygen undergoes sp3 hybridization resulting in a tetrahedral shape. 2p0

sp3
1s2 sp3 hybrid orbitals L sp3 hybrid orbitals

8O
2s0
K 1s2
Oxygen forms two bonds by utilising its half filled sp3 hybrid orbitals when it
forms the H2O molecule with hydrogen. b. sp3 hybridization in the oxygen atom.

Formation of sp3 hybrid orbitals in the

oxygen atom

Chemical Bonds 33
 1H

8O
O
H
104.5°
1H

H Between O and H atoms

OH O H 2O the H2O molecule forms.
The orientation of the orbitals in the H2O
H
molecule. H H

Because of the electronegativity difference (1.4) between O (3.5) and H (2.1),

O H bonds are polar.

The geometry of the molecule

The two unpaired electrons of oxygen atom form two polar O H bonds in a
water molecule. The other four valence electrons around the oxygen atom exist
O as two free electron pairs. Since the free electron pairs of oxygen do not form
H
5°

bonds, they occupy a larger volume than bonding electron pairs. Due to the
4.
10

H greater repulsive effect of the free electron pairs compared with the bonding
electrons in the H2O molecule, the shape of the H2O molecule is bent. The
Figure 9 : The shape of the H 2O angle between oxygen–hydrogen bonds is 104.5° (Figure 9) and the molecule is
molecule
polar.

14

Show the bond structure of the oxygen molecule by using orbital, electron dot
and line representations.

Oxygen has two filled, and two half filled valence orbitals. The oxygen atom forms
two bonds by overlapping its half-filled orbitals with another oxygen atom.

8O

O O O O O2
electron dot line oxygen
8O
representation representation molecule
orbital representation

34 Chemical Bonds
 Both Ionic and Covalent

C N O
H H H
H H 104.5°
109.5°

H H H

Molecule formula : CH4 NH3 H2O

Molecule geometry : tetrahedral trigonal pyramidal bent
Polarity of the molecule : nonpolar polar polar
Bond angle : HCH : 109.5° HNH : 107° HOH : 104.5°

The shape of methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) and water (H2O) molecules are based upon the tetrahedron. CH4 has four bonds
while the other two molecules have lone pair electrons as well as bonding electron pairs. As the number of lone pair electrons
increases the bond angles decrease. The reason is that the free electron pairs occupy a larger volume in space. As a result, the
shape of CH4 is tetrahedral, but due to the greater repulsive forces of free electron pairs the shape of NH3 is trigonal pyramidal
with a bond angle of 107° and that of H2O is bent with a bond angle of 104.5°.
To summarize, the orientations of the electron pairs around of the central atoms in each of the three molecules are based upon
the tetrahedron.. The shape of methane is tetrahedral, but in the ammonia and water molecules due to the repulsive forces of
the non-bonding electrons, the shapes are trigonal pyramidal and bent respectively, with a decreasing bond angle.

15

Show the bond structure of the OF2 molecule by using electron dot representation.

The number of valence electrons of oxygen and fluorine are six and seven
respectively. So oxygen needs to share two electrons and fluorine one electron
to complete its octet. Therefore one oxygen atom combines with two fluorine
atoms.

The shape of OF2 is bent. Both the (O F) bonds and the OF2 molecule are
polar.

FO O
F F 104.5
F

Chemical Bonds 35
 16
Show the bond structure of the H2O2 molecule by using orbital diagrams,
electron dot structure and line representation.

When one hydrogen atom is attached to one oxygen atom OH forms

1H

O H O H
8O

But in this case OH has one more half filled orbital and it is very reactive. To
achieve stability, the half filled orbital of OH overlaps with the half filled orbital of
another OH and the H2O2 molecule is formed.

1H
H
8O H
O O O O H2O2
H
8O H
1H

4.7. BONDING CAPACITY OF FLUORINE

Although fluorine has seven valence electrons, only one of them is unpaired, so
partially partially
positive d+ d– negative the fluorine atom can form one bond. The formula of the compound formed
H F
between hydrogen and fluorine is HF and its bond structure is as follows;
Distribution of bonding electrons in the
HF molecule. 1s2 2s2 2p2x 2p2y 2p1z
9F

1H

1s1
Between F and H atoms
H F H F HF
the HF molecule is formed.

The electronegativity difference (1.9) between F(4.0) and H(2.1) is very high,
therefore the H F bond is very polar.

36 Chemical Bonds
The geometry of the molecule
The HF molecule is linear and as fluorine is more electronegative than
hydrogen, the bonding electrons are closer to the fluorine atom.

4.8. BONDING CAPACITY OF NEON

Neon has eight valence electrons and all of them are paired, hence the valence
orbitals of neon are completely filled. Therefore neon is very unreactive and does
not bond with any other element. Similarly, the group 8A elements (noble gases)
helium and argon are very unreactive. However, krypton and xenon may form
bonds under certain conditions.

Orbitals
Nonbonding Polarity
used in General Molecular Bond The name of example
electron Molecular shape of Example
bond formula geometry angle compounds
pairs molecule
formation

X A X BeCl2 Beryllium chloride

sp — AX2 X A X 180° Nonpolar
Linear BeF2 Beryllium fluoride

X
X
sp2 — AX3 A 120° Nonpolar BCl3 Boron trichloride
X X A BF3 Boron trifluoride

Trigonal planar X X

X
X

sp3 — AX4 A 109.5° Nonpolar CCl4 Carbon tetrachloride

X CH4 Methane
X X A
X X
Tetrahedral

sp3 1 AX3E A 107° Polar NH 3 Ammonia

X A
X X X X PCl3 Phosphorous
Trigonal trichloride
pyramidal X

A
sp3 2 AX2E2 104.5° Polar H 2O Water
X X A OF2 Oxygen difluoride
X
Bent
X

A : Central atom, X : Atoms bonded to central atom, E : Non-bonding electron pairs

Table 2 : Molecules formed using hybrid orbitals in their bond formation.

Chemical Bonds 37
 5. DOUBLE AND TRIPLE COVALENT BONDS
Sigma bond Some atoms, such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen can form double or triple
X X
bonds as well as single bonds.
Sigma bond
X X Two types of bonds may be formed when orbitals overlap. These are named
Pi bond
sigma (σ) and pi (π) bonds.
Sigma bond
All single bonds between two atoms are sigma (σ) bonds. Pi bonds can only be
X X
Pi bond Pi bond formed after a sigma bond has already been formed. Therefore a double bond
The distribution of σ and π bonds within
contains one σ and one π bond, and a triple bond contains one σ and two π bonds.
single, double and triple bonds. Now let’s examine the formation of σ and π bonds.

σ) BONDS
5.1. SIGMA (σ
Sigma (σ) bonds are formed by the end to end overlap of two orbitals. This
overlap can take place between s orbitals, p orbitals or hybrid orbitals.

For example, in the methane molecule (CH4), the four sp3 hybrid orbitals of the
carbon atom overlap end to end with one 1s orbital from each hydrogen atom
to form four C H bonds. Those bonds are all σ bonds.

z z z
a)

x + x x

y y
y
s orbital s orbital sigma (s) bond

z z z z
b)

x + x x

y y y y
p orbital p orbital sigma (s) bond

z z z z
c)

x + x x

y y y y
Hybrid orbital Hybrid orbital sigma (s) bond

Sigma bonds are formed from:

a. overlap of s orbitals, b. the end to end overlap of p orbitals, c. the overlap of hybrid orbitals

38 Chemical Bonds
Similarly, C H sigma bonds in the C2H6 molecule are formed by the end to end Energy
overlap of sp3 hybrid orbitals of the carbon atoms with the 1s orbitals of the
2p0
hydrogen atoms. The C C σ bond is formed by the end to end overlap of the sp3 sp3
hybrid orbitals of the C atoms. So in the C2H6 molecule there are six C H σ L sp3 hybrid orbitals
form s bond
bonds and one C C σ bond making seven σ bonds in total.
2s0
K 1s2

H When carbon atoms undergo sp3

H H
hybridization, the hybrid orbitals form
s s s sigma bonds.

s C s C
s C s s

H H H H
s s s

H H
H
CH4 molecule : 4 sigma(s) bonds C2H6 molecule : 7 sigma(s) bonds

Sigma bonds in methane and ethane

π) BONDS
5.2. Pi (π
H H H
Pi (π) bonds are formed by the side by side overlap of two parallel p orbitals. In
H C H H C C H
the π bond, the electron cloud lies above and below the plane formed by σ
bonds. π bonds are weaker than σ bonds. H H H
In methane there are four C H sigma
bonds whereas in ethane there are six
C H and one C C sigma bond.

one pi(p) bond

p orbital p orbital (two separate
electron clouds)

A π bond is formed from the side by side overlap of unhybridized p orbitals.

p orbital + p orbital ⇒ 1 π bond (2 separate electron clouds)

A π bond can not be formed alone. It can be formed after the formation of a σ
bond, if any unhybridized p–orbitals of atoms remain. In another words, to form
a π bond, two atoms must form a σ bond first.

Chemical Bonds 39
 Energy Formation of The Pi (π) Bond in The Ethylene Molecule
Unhybridized p orbitals
form pi(p) bonds Both carbon atoms in ethylene molecule undergo sp2 hybridization and form
2p 1
three identical sp2 hybrid orbitals. One p orbital remains unhybridized. Two sp2
sp2 hybrid orbitals from each carbon atom overlap end to end with the 1s orbital of
L
s–p hybrid orbitals form a hydrogen atom and four C H σ bonds are formed in total. Also, between the
sigma (s) bonds
2s0 two carbon atoms, a C C σ bond is formed as a result of the overlap between
K 1s2 two sp2 hybrid orbitals. So, in the C2H4 molecule in total there are five σ bonds.
Meanwhile, the unhybridized p orbitals of the two carbon atoms overlap side by
When a carbon atom undergoes sp2 side and form a π bond. So between the two carbon atoms in the C2H4 molecule
hybridization, sp2 hybrid orbitals form σ
there is one σ bond, formed by the overlapping of sp2 hybrid orbitals and one π
bonds, but the unhybridized p orbital
forms a pi bond. bond, formed by the side by side overlapping of the unhybridized p orbitals. In
total, two bonds are formed, hence a double bond exists between the two carbon
atoms.

H s s H As a result, in the C2H4 molecule there are five σ and one π bond, so in total, six
p
C s C bonds.
s s
H H
The ethylene molecule contains one
C C σ bond, four C H σ bond and
p
one C C π bond. H H H H
s s s s
s
C C C C
s s
s s s
H H H H

Energy In the C2H4 molecule, unhybridized p orbitals overlap in side by side and form a π
Unhybridized p orbitals
form pi(p) bonds bond.
2p2

sp
L Formation of Pi (π) Bonds in The Acetylene Molecule
s–p hybrid orbitals form
sigma (s) bonds
2s0 Both carbon atoms in the acetylene molecule undergo sp hybridization. Two p
K 1s2 orbitals remain unhybridized. So, one sp hybrid orbital from each carbon atom
overlaps with the s orbital of a hydrogen atom and two C H σ bonds result.
When carbon undergoes sp hybridization
the sp hybrid orbitals form s bonds, and Also, between the two adjacent C atoms a C C σ bond is formed as a result of
the unhybridized p orbitals form π bonds. end to end overlap of the sp hybrid orbitals. So in the C2H2 molecule there are
three σ bonds in total.

Meanwhile, the unhybridized p orbitals of two carbon atoms overlap side by side
H C C H and form two C C π bonds. Thus, in the C2H2 molecule between the two
Acetylene contains two C H σ bonds, carbon atoms, one σ bond is formed (by the end to end overlap of sp hybrid
one C C σ bond and two C C π orbitals) and two π bonds are formed (by the side by side overlap of the
bonds. So in total there are three σ bonds
unhybridized p orbitals).
and two π bonds.

40 Chemical Bonds
As a result, in the C2H2 molecule there are three σ and two π bonds, so in total
five bonds.

p
p
s s s s s s
H C C H H C C H

In the C2H2 molecule, unhybridized p orbitals form two π bonds by overlapping

side by side.

17

The formula of acrylonitrile which is a basic material in the production of

synthetic fabrics is given below:
H H Bond Length
The distance between the nuclei of
H 1C C
2 C
3 N
two bonding atoms in a molecule is
How many σ and π bonds are there in this molecule? called the bond length. The most
important factor controlling the bond
length is the radii of the atoms that
form the bond. As the atomic radii of
There are four single bonds (three C H and one C C) in the molecule. Those the atoms increase, the bond length
bonds are σ bonds. But, the molecule contains six σ bonds in total because both will also increase.
carbon – carbon double and carbon nitrogen triple bonds contain one σ bond.
Also, each π bond added to a σ bond
The molecule contains three π bonds: one in the carbon–carbon double bond makes the bond shorter. So the bond
and two in the carbon nitrogen triple bond. length between two carbon atoms
decreases as π bonds are added.
For bonds between any two atoms,
6. RESONANCE STRUCTURES increasing number of bonds decreases

In some molecules there may be a conflict between the theoretical and real the bond length. As the number of

structures. For example, the structure of the ozone molecule (O3) should contain bonding electron pairs increases, the

one single bond and one double bond between the oxygen atoms according to attractive force between the atoms

our rules. Only in this case, each oxygen atom in the ozone molecule can gets stronger. Therefore,

complete its octet and obtain the configuration of a noble gas. So the structure C C C C C C
of the ozone molecule should be. 154 pm 134 pm 121 pm
O O C O C O C O
or
143 pm 122 pm 113 pm
O O O O

Chemical Bonds 41
 128 pm 128 pm A O O bond is shorter than a O O bond, but studies show that in the O3
O molecule both oxygen-oxygen bonds are of equal length. Moreover, this bond
117°
O O length is found to be shorter than a single bond but longer than a double bond.
Therefore the structure of the molecule is a hybrid of the two molecular
The bonds in the ozone, molecule, O3,
structures shown below.
are identical and have a length of 128
pm. electron pair electron pair
which forms O O O O which forms
p bond p bond

O O O O O O O O
resonance structures

A structure midway between the two resonance structures represents the ozone
structure best. The bonds in this structure are stronger than a single bond but
weaker than a double one.
O

O O

Octet Rule
7. EXCEPTIONS TO THE OCTET RULE
Atoms tend to acquire a noble gas
configuration either by forming ions Atoms form bonds to make their electronic structures similar to those of noble
or by sharing electrons in covalent gases. All noble gases except He have an electron structure ending with ns2 np6.
bonds. The tendency of atoms to Most atoms complete their valence shell with eight electrons (an octet) to
acquire eight valence electrons is
become stable. However, some exceptions occur.
known as the octet rule.

7.1. ELECTRON DEFICIENCY

Some atoms are able to form compounds even though the resulting structure
doesn’t provide eight valence electrons. For example beryllium and boron do not
complete their octet in their covalent compounds because these atoms have less
than four valence electrons. For example, in BeF2; (F – Be – F) beryllium shares
its two valance electrons but it doesn’t complete its octet, it is only surrounded
by four electrons. In BF3, the boron atom shares its three valence electrons but
Be + 2 F F Be F does not complete its octet as it has just three electron pairs (six electrons)
B +3 F F B F surrounding it.
F The same principle applies for BeCl2, BeH2, BCl3 etc. Beryllium and boron
compounds are exceptions to the octet rule.

7.2. EXPANDED OCTETS

Some atoms in 3rd period of the periodic table and beyond may complete their
octet and form a stable compound. They may also disobey the octet rule by
having more than eight electrons in their valence orbitals.

42 Chemical Bonds
There might be five or six electron pairs around an atom.

Expanded octet in the PF5 molecule F

The electron structure of phosphorus ends with 3s2
As we saw 3p3 3d0.
previously, the phosphorus atom normally forms three bonds. However, it is able
to undergo sp3d hybridization as shown below. F
P F
3s 2
3p3
3d0
F
P [Ne]
a. ground state of the P atom
3s1 3p3 3d1
F
P* [Ne]
b. excited state Orbital orientation in PF5, the molecule
is trigonal bipyramidal
When it is excited one of the 3s electrons is promoted to a 3d orbital. In this
configuration, phosphorous has five half–filled orbitals, and therefore a bonding
F
capacity of five. When these half-filled orbitals are filled with the unpaired
electrons from five fluorine atoms, the PF5 molecule results. In this molecule, the F
phosphorous atom is surrounded by five pairs, or ten electrons.
F P
F F
F
The Lewis structure of the PF5 molecule is; P F
F
F
F
Molecular model of PF5
So PF5 is an exception to the octet rule.

7.3. FREE RADICALS

Compounds that have unpaired electrons in their structures are called free
radicals. These compounds also do not obey the octet rule.

– +
Trigonal bipyramid
N O N O

N N N N

O O O O O O O O

NO and NO2 are two examples of free radicals.

Free radicals are chemically active substances. They do not have any charge.

Chemical Bonds 43
 18
Two NO2 molecules may easily combine and form the N2O4 molecule. Explain
the reason for this combinaton.

2NO2 → N2O4

The nitrogen atom in the NO2 molecule has an incomplete octet, having a single
unpaired electron. The unpaired electrons of the nitrogen atoms combine to
form a single bond.

O O

O N + N O O N N O

O O

By the combination of two NO2 molecules, the nitrogen atoms complete their
octet and become more stable.

44 Chemical Bonds
1. Compare the electronegativities of the following 13. Describe the type of bonds in each of the following
elements; P, N, F, Si. compounds.
a. AlCl3 b. SF6 c. CCl4 d. NaNO3 e. CaSO4
2. Why do atoms tend to acquire a noble gas electron
configuration?
14. Explain coordinate covalent bonding and give one
3. Explain the bond formation in Cl2 and O2 using orbital example.
representation. (17Cl, 8O) –
15. Explain the bonding in the H3O+ and BF4 ions.
4. Write the electron configurations of following species
and draw their orbital diagrams. 16. Show the coordinate covalent bond formed between
a. 7N
–3
b.
+2 –2 +3 +1 BF3 and NH3 molecules?
12Mg c. 16S d. 26Fe e. 47Ag
The shape of the BF3 molecule is trigonal planar but
5. Draw the electron dot structures of the following NH3 molecule is trigonal pyramidal. Explain the reason
elements for this difference.
a. 5B b. 12Mg c. 15P d. 19K e. 35Br
17. Write down the types of hybridization of the numbered
6. Give the electron dot representations of the ions and carbon atoms in the following compound.
compounds given below. CH3
a. HF b. CO2 c. C2H2 d. H2S e. NCl3 1 2 3
H2C CH C C CH
f. Cl– g. CN– h. ClO2– i. SO32– j. PO43–
Br
(1H, 7N, 8O, 9F, 12C, 15P, 16S, 17Cl)

18. Explain the hybridization undergone by the boron atom

7. For the H2S molecule, show its when it bonds with hydrogen.
a. Orbital representation.
b. Electron dot representation. 19. Cl
c. Line representation.
H3C C CH C CH

8. Which of the following compounds exhibit ionic bonding What are the number of σ and π bonds in the above
a. H2O b. Na2O c. KCl d. CaBr2 e. P2O5 compound?

9. Compare the ionic character of the given compounds. 20. Compare the carbon - carbon bond lengths of given
a. NaCl b. KF c. MgO d. CaS e. AlF3 compounds
a. C2H6 b. C2H2 c. C2H4
10. Show the formation of ionic bonds between
a. K and Cl b. Mg and F c. Be and O 21. The angle between the N – H bonds in the NH3

11. What is the difference between the formation of ionic molecule is 107°, whereas the angle between the H – O
and covalent bonds? bonds in the H2O molecule is 104,5°. What is the reason
for this difference?
12. Draw the molecular structures of the following species.
Are these molecules polar or non-polar? 22. Find the number of π and σ bonds in each of the
a. NH3 b. CH4 c. H2O d. HF following molecules.
e. PH3 f. CO2 g. PCl3 h. BeH2 a. O2 b. CO2 c. N2 d. C2H4 e. C2H2

Chemical Bonds 45
Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structures 5. How many σ bonds does the C3H8 molecule have?
1. X+n and Y–n
have the same number of electrons and a A) 6 B) 7 C) 8 D) 9 E) 10
stable noble gas electron configuration. According to
this information;
I. The atomic number of Y is 8 if the atomic number of
X is 12. 6. Some molecules and their Lewis structures are given
II. Both X and Y elements are in the same period. below ;
III. Both X and Y elements are in the same group. Molecule Lewis structures
————— ————————
Which of the above statements is/are correct? I. H2O HOH
A) I Only B) I and II C) I and III II. NH3 H NH
D) III Only E) I , II and III H

III. CO2 OCO

Which of the given matching pairs above is/are correct?

2. Nitrogen and hydrogen molecules react to form
A) I Only B) II Only C) I and II
ammonia. Which of the following statements is/are
correct for the ammonia molecule? D) I, II and III E) II and III

I. The molecule is polar.

II. The N–H bonds in the molecule are polar.
III. The molecular structure is trigonal pyramidal. 7. Which shaped molecular structure does hydrogen form
with a group 5A element?
A) I Only B) II Only C) I and II
D) II and III E) I, II and III A) Linear B) Angular C) Trigonal planar
D) Tetrahedral E) Trigonal pyramidal

3. I. H2O
8. In which one of the following molecules is the bond
II. NH3
between the C atoms the shortest ?
III. CH4
A) CH4 B) C2H4 C) C2H2 D) C3H8 E) C4H10
Which of the above molecules is/are polar?

A) I Only B) II Only C) I and II

D) II and III E) I, II and III
9. I. It contains two σ bonds
II. It contains two π bonds
III. It is bent
4. Which one of the following molecules has a nonpolar Which of the above statements is/are correct for a
bond ? molecule of CO2?
A) NaCl B) MgCl2 C) AlCl3 A) I Only B) II Only C) III Only
D) Cl2 E) HCl D) I and II E) I and III

46 Chemical Bonds
10. In which one of the following molecules does the central 15. How many electrons are used in the bond formation of
atom undergo sp2 hybridization? the hydrogen molecule?

A) MgCl2 B) BF3 C) NaCl A) 1 B) 2 C) 4 D) 6 E) 8

D) CH4 E) CO2

11. Which of the following molecules is tetrahedral?

A) BH3 B) H2S C) CCl4 D) OF2 E) NH3 16. How many polar and nonpolar covalent bonds are there
between the atoms in the ethene molecule C2H4 ?
A) 2 polar, 2 nonpolar
B) 1 polar, 5 nonpolar
C) 4 polar, 2 nonpolar
12. Which explanation is incorrect regarding the group 5A
D) 2 nonpolar, 4 polar
elements.
E) 5 polar, 1 polar
I. Compounds of phosphorus cannot form five bonds.
II. When it is excited, the phosphorus atom becomes
pentavalent.
III. Nitrogen can form both ionic and covalent bonds.

A) I only B) II only C) III only

D) I and II E) I and III
17. In which one of the following species would you expect
to find a π bond?
A) H2 B) O2 C) F2 D) Cl2 E) Br2

13. The respective bond types in Cl2, HCl and NaCl are:
A) Ionic, polar covalent, non-polar cavalent
B) Non-polar covalent, polar covalent, ionic
C) Polar covalent, non-polar covalent, ionic
18. Which one of the following statements is wrong?
D) Ionic, non-polar covalent, polar covalent
A) Chlorine is able to form both ionic and covalent
E) Non-polar covalent, ionic, polar covalent bonds.
B) 2 electrons are used in the formation of the chemical
bond in the chlorine molecule.
C) The bond in KCl is formed by electron exchange.

14. What is the oxidation state number of carbon in CO2? D) The bond types in HCl and NaCl are the same.

A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4 E) 5 E) The bond type in Cl2 is non-polar covalent.

Chemical Bonds 47
 CRISS – CROSS PUZZLE 1 2

Complete the crossword in the normal way.

CLUES ACROSS 3

4. This is the type of hybridization of the 4

carbon atom in the methane molecule. 5

6. This is the tendency of atoms to attract 6 7

bonding electrons within a molecule.
10. This is the attractive force that holds
8 9
atoms together in a compound.
10 11
11. The number of electrons necessary to
form a double bond.
12. This is the combination of pure atomic 12

orbitals to produce new orbitals.

14. These type of molecules do not have 13
oppositely charged poles.
14 15
16. This is the most electronegative element.

CLUES DOWN 16 17

1. When two non-metals share their

electrons, the result is this bond.
2. Such a bond exists between the atoms of
the nitrogen molecule.
3. The American scientist who proposed the
theory of electron sharing.
4. Such bonds are formed by the end to end 9. A bond often seen between a metal and a non-metal.
overlap of two orbitals.
13. Such orbitals have 50% s and 50% p character.
5. This is a type of bond seen between two non-metals
15. It is the shape of the water molecule
having different electronegativities.
17. According to this rule, an atom tends to lose or gain
7. A methane molecule has this shape.
electrons until it has eight electrons in its valence shell.
8. In this type of covalent bond both of the bonding
electrons are supplied by one atom.

CRYPTOGRAM
Below is a phrase about bonding. Try to find out the whole phrase with the given clues.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
3 13 22 4 23 19

3 22 2 8 4 3 18 21 20 23 10 7 4 24 19 22 2 18 19 19 14 18 3 19 4 23 10 18 21

13 23 14 3 2 19 22 18 19 22 23 21 7 24 18 19 23 8 24

19 23 12 2 19 22 2 14 4 10 3 23 8 16 23 11 10 7 24

48 Chemical Bonds
In the gaseous state molecules are far INTRODUCTION
apart from each other and move
continuously. When the temperature is All gases condense at low temperatures to become liquids. If the temperature is
decreased, the molecules slow down lowered still further, liquids turn into solids.
and lose kinetic energy, as a result the
molecules can stick together and the In the solid and liquid phases, molecules are very close to each other. This is
physical state changes to liquid or solid.
because forces hold the molecules together in the solid and liquid states. We
have already studied intramolecular bonds within molecules in the previous
chapter. In this chapter, we will examine the forces of attraction between the
particles in liquids and solids.

These forces affect the boiling point, melting point, hardness, and electrical and
heat conductivity of a substance. In this chapter, we will study metals, ionic
solids, network solids, dipole-dipole attractions, van der Waals forces and
hydrogen bonds.
Nucleus Sea of electrons

1. METALLIC BONDS
+ – + – + – + – + –
– – +– – + – – +– – + – – + Metal atoms have a small number of valence electrons. The nuclear attractive
+ – + – + – + – + – forces between the metal nuclei and their valence electrons are reduced by the
– + – + – + – + – +
+ – + – + – + – + – inner electrons (which are closer to nucleus). Thus, the nucleus of a metal atom
– – + – – + – – +– – + – +
+ – + – + – + – + – exerts only a small attractive force on its valence electrons and these electrons
– + – + – + – + – + are able to move more freely. For this reason, metal atoms have very low
+ – +– – +– – +– – +–
– + – + – – + – ionization energies and electronegativities.

In metals, an attraction is formed Metals are solid at room temperature, except for mercury. This tells us that the
between the negatively charged attractive forces between metal atoms are strong. The valence electrons of metal
electrons and the positively charged atoms can easily move from the free orbitals of one atom to another. These
nuclei of the atoms. electrons that can move freely between atoms form an “electron sea”. An
attractive force occurs between the negatively charged “sea of electrons” and the
positively charged nuclei. Metal atoms are held together because of this attractive
force. This is called the metallic bond.

Let's examine sodium. The electron configuration of sodium is;

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 3p

x y z

The Na atom has one half-filled (3s1)and three empty orbitals (3px, 3py, 3pz).
The number of valence orbitals is greater than the number of valence electrons.
In the solid state, sodium atoms are surrounded by other sodium atoms. Thus,
the valence electron of the sodium atom in the 3s orbital can move to the empty
orbitals (3px, 3py, 3pz) of neighbouring atoms. When each sodium valence
electron behaves in this way, a sea of electrons is built up around the sodium
Metals can be drawn into wires and
atoms (now positive ions, having lost a valence electron).
hammered easily.

50 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

Because of the attraction between the electron sea and the positively charged
sodium nuclei, a metallic bond is formed. Because of these freely moving
electrons in the electron sea, metals are good conductors of heat and electricity.
They can be drawn into wires and can be hammered into shape easily.

sea of
sea of electrons
electrons nucleus
nucleus
– + – +
– + – + – + – – + – – +– –
– + – – +– – + – – + – + – +
– + – + – + – – + –
– + – + –
– + – + – + – + – + – + + – – +
– + – + – + – – + – – +– – – + –
– + – – +– – + – + – + – + + – +
– + – + – + – – + – + – – + –
–+ – + – + – + – – +– – +– +– +
– – +– – +– – +– – + – – – + –
– + – – + – + – +
– +–
+ –

The free movement of electrons in metals makes it easy for metals to be shaped
and drawn into wires.

In the periodic table, metallic bond strength generally decreases as you go down
a group.

However across a period, the metallic bond strength generally increases from left
to right. This is because the metals on the right hand side possess a higher Sodium
number of valence electrons.

Let us compare the metallic bonds of sodium, magnesium and aluminum.

sodium (11Na) has one valence electron, magnesium (12Mg) has two and
aluminum (13Al) three valence electrons.

The metallic bonding in Al is the strongest, and the weakest in Na.

Strong metallic bonds increase the boiling point, melting point, and the hardness
of the metal.
Magnesium
Sodium, magnesium and aluminum melt at 98°C, 650°C and 660°C respectively.

+ – + – + – – +2 – – +2 – – – – – +3 – – –– +3 – ––
+3 +3 –– – +3 –– –
+ – + – + – –+2 +2 – +2 – +2 – – – +3
– + – + – – – – +2 – +2 – – – – – – – – +3– – ––+3 – – –
+ +2 – – +3 – – – – –
+ – + – + – – – +2 – – +2 – +2 – –– +3 – – ––+3 –– – ––+3
– + – + – + +2 – –
+2 – – +2 – – +3 – –
+3 – – +3 – –
+ – + – + – – +2 – – +2 – +2 – – +3 – – –– +3 –– – –– +3
– + + – +2 – – – – –
– – + +2 – – +2– – – +3 – – – +3 – – – +3 – –
+ – + – + – – +2 – +2 – – +2 – – +3 – – – +3 – – – +3
– + – + + – +2 – +2 – – +2 – – – – +3 – – –– +3 – – –
– – – – +2 – –
+ – +3 – – – – –
– – – – – – +3 – – Aluminum
sodium magnesium aluminum

Comparison of metallic bonding in Na, Mg and Al.

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 51

 1
The melting points of sodium and calcium are 98°C and 838°C respectively. Give
the reason for this.

Na and Ca both contain metallic bonds. The strength of a metallic bond is

related to the number of valence electrons.

Na has one valence electron and Ca has two valence electrons therefore the total
charge of the electron sea in Ca is greater than that of Na. So the metallic Ca
bonds are stronger than those in Na, and therefore Ca melts at a higher
temperature.

2. IONIC SOLIDS
When metal and nonmetal atoms come together they form ionic bonds, as you
will remember from the previous chapter. In the ionic bond, the metal atoms
which lose electrons become positively charged and the nonmetal atoms, which
gain electrons, become negatively charged. Electrostatic attraction occurs
between the positive and negative charges, holding the ions together.

These electrostatic attractions act in all directions. Thus, ionic crystalline solids
consist of metal ions are surrounded by non-metal ions and non-metal ions
Some ionic crystals. Nickel(II) nitrate
surrounded by metal ions. Therefore, ionic solids do not have a molecular
(Ni(NO3)2 . 6H2O, green), potassium
structure.
dichromate (K2Cr2O7 , orange), copper(II)
sulfate (CuSO4 . 5H2O blue) As the attraction between the ions is strong, the melting and boiling points of
ionic solids are very high. For example, NaCl melts at 801°C.

In ionic solids, electrons are held in place around the ions so they don’t conduct
electricity. However, in aqueous solution and molten state, they do conduct
NaCl
electricity. Electrical conductance of ionic compounds is not due to movement
of electrons but to the movement of ions.
CaF2
Ionic compounds are brittle but not ductile, as is shown in Figure 1. When they
are hammered, their structure is disturbed, the hammered part shifts and similar
CuBr2
charged ions repel each other and the ionic substance breaks down into smaller
Fe2O3
pieces. Since movement of the ions disturbs the balance of electrical charge,
Some salts crystals. ionic solids cannot be drawn into wires and are broken easily.

52 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

 – + – – + – +
– + + –

– + + – + – – + –
+ – + – +

– – – + – + + – +
– + – + +

– + – – + –
+ – + – + – + +

– – – + – + + – +
– + – + +
– + –

Figure 1 : Ionic solids are brittle and can not be drawn into wires or hammered
into plates. As the ionic bonds are very strong, compounds containing such bonds
are very stable.

2
Compare the ionic character of the following salts. KF, KCl, KBr and KI

Electronegativity decreases from top to bottom down a group. The

electronegativity order for the halogens is F > Cl > Br > I.
Among the given compounds KF is the most ionic and KI is the least ionic.

3. NETWORK SOLIDS
In molecular covalent compounds, intermolecular forces are very weak
in comparison with intramolecular forces. For this reason, most covalent
substances with a low molecular mass are gaseous at room
temperature. Others, with higher molecular masses may be liquids or
solids, though with relatively low melting and boiling points.

However, in some covalent substances, known as network solids, atoms

are bonded together in a way that forms a network structure.

Diamond
The most typical example of a network solid is diamond. In diamond
each carbon atom is covalently bonded to four other carbon atoms
forming a tetrahedral shape. (The type of hybridization that corresponds
to this tetrahedral structure is sp3) This structure is extremely strong and
this makes diamond the hardest natural substance.

Silicon carbide SiC is another network solid. Silicon carbide is used as an

abrasive because of its hard structure.

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 53

 Allotropy
Diamond and graphite are allotropes
of carbon. The density of diamond is
3.5 g/cm3 and that of graphite is 2.2
g/cm3. Diamond is used to cut other
hard materials such as glass because of Each carbon atom is bonded to 4 other carbon atoms to form a tetrahedral shape
its hardness. On the other hand, softer in diamond. The bonds are formed by sp3-sp3 hybrid overlap.
graphite is used in pencils.
Diamond and silicon carbide are nonconductors of electricity and have very high
melting points. The melting point of diamond is about 3500°C and that of SiC
2830°C.

Si atom
O atom

Quartz (SiO2) has a network covalent bond structure The network covalent bond in silicon carbide (SiC)

d d Graphite
p
In graphite, a different form of carbon, atoms are bonded to each other in such
a way that a hexagonal structure is formed in a plane. Each carbon atom is
bonded to three other carbon atoms with an angle of 120° between the bonds.
The bonding involves sp2 – sp2 hybrid overlap and this gives rise to layers.

Bonds in the same plane are very strong, but

attractions between the layers are much
weaker. Because of this weak bonding
between the layers, the layers can slide over
each other. This makes graphite a good
Carbon atoms in graphite form a lubricant, and gives it a soft feel. It conducts
hexagonal structure. electricity.

54 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

 Fullerenes
In 1985, another allotropic form of carbon, fullerenes, were discovered. Two important fullerenes are C60 and C70.
The C60 molecule is produced by evaporating carbon at 8000°C. The structure of C60 resembles a soccer ball and contains 12
pentagons and 20 hexagons. Carbon atoms are located at the corners of these interlocking shapes.
Today fullerenes are used in production of batteries, treatment of cancer and in electronic devices.

The C atoms in C60 are arranged as A view of C60 molecules on silicon Model of the C60 crystal drawn from
in a football. crystals (the white patches) the view obtained from the
obtained from a scanning tunnelling scanning tunnelling microscope.
microscope.

3
Explain whether or not the following substances conduct electricity.
a. Al (s), b. KCl(aq), c. Hg(l), d. NaNO3(s), e. SiC(s), f. LiF(aq)

Al(s) and Hg(s) are metals and consist of metal ions in an electron sea. Although
their physical phases are different, they conduct electricity because of the freely
moving electrons that make up the electron sea.
KCl, NaNO3 and LiF are ionic solids. Ionic solids don’t conduct electricity in the
solid state, however, aqueous solutions and molten forms of ionic compounds
contain mobile ions so they can conduct electricity. Thus, aqueous KCl and LiF
conduct electricity but solid NaNO3 doesn’t.
SiC(s) is a network covalent solid. It contains covalent bonds between its atoms.
It doesn’t have any freely moving electrons or ions and so SiC doesn’t conduct
electricity.

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 55

 4. DIPOLE – DIPOLE FORCES
– + – + – +
d d d d d d
In polar covalent substances, the molecules have partial positive and negative
charges because of the electronegativity differences between the atoms. The
+ – s+ s– + –
d d H Cl d d molecules are said to possess a dipole.

There is an attraction between the positive end of one dipole and the negative
Formation of dipole – dipole forces..
ends of neighboring dipoles. This attraction is called dipole – dipole attraction.

For example, in the HCl molecule, the partial charge on the hydrogen atom is
positive and the partial charge on the chlorine atom is negative. Between
neighboring HCl molecules there is an attraction between the hydrogen and
a) chlorine ends of the molecules. Dipole - dipole forces between HCl molecules
are much weaker than the covalent bond within the molecule.

5. VAN DER WAALS FORCES

–
b) d
+ Noble gases and non-polar molecules such as CO2 and CH4 do not have dipoles.
d
In these molecules, the movement of electrons results in nonpolar molecules
becoming temporarily polar; an instantaneous dipole is formed. The molecule
which becomes momentarily polar then causes its neighboring molecule to
become polar. Thus a weak attraction occurs between the molecules. This
– – attraction is named the van der Waals force.
c) d d
+ +
d d
Van der Waals forces depend upon the electron density of the atoms. Increasing
Formation of van der Waals forces. number of atoms in a molecule increases the van der Waals attractive force.
Molecules approaching each other gain Since the electron number of a neutral atom is equal to its proton number, atoms
momentarily polar character. which have a large proton number have strong van der Waals forces between
their molecules. Therefore, van der Waals forces are stronger between
molecules with high molecular masses.

Van der Waals forces between I2 molecules are stronger than those between Cl2
molecules because clearly, iodine has bigger molecules than chlorine. Propane
(C3H8) is bigger than methane (CH4), so the van der Waals forces between C3H8
molecules are stronger than those between CH4 molecules.

For small molecules, the van der Waals force is weaker than dipole - dipole forces
and hydrogen bonding. Thus, small nonpolar molecules have low melting and
boiling points.

Let’s compare the intermolecular forces between I2 and Cl2 . I2 has the greater
molecular mass so the van der Waals forces between its molecules are greater in
comparison with Cl2. Therefore at room temperature iodine is solid whereas
The first container contains bromine and chlorine is gas.
the second iodine.

56 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

 4

Compare the boiling points of the following compounds:

CBr4, CH4, CF4, CCl4.

Boiling points of substances increase with increasing intermolecular forces. All

the given compounds are non-polar. We know that the non-polar molecules
possess van der Waals forces and these forces are proportional to the molecular
masses of the compounds. Therefore CH4, having the smallest molecular mass,
has the lowest boiling point. So the boiling point order is;

CH4 < CF4 < CCl4 < CBr4

6. HYDROGEN BONDS
Fluorine, oxygen and nitrogen are the most electronegative elements. Therefore
the compounds that these elements form with hydrogen (HF, H2O,NH3) are
highly polar. Due to this polarity an intermolecular force that is much stronger
than the usual dipole-dipole attraction occurs. These strong intermolecular
forces are called hydrogen bonds.

A hydrogen bond is formed between a hydrogen atom and a lone pair electrons
from an atom in a neighboring molecule. For example, the hydrogen atom of a
water molecule forms a hydrogen bond with the lone pair of electrons from an
: Hydrogen bonds
oxygen atom in another water molecule.
Hydrogen bonds between water
molecules are stronger than dipole-
dipole and van der Waals forces.

d– d–
d–
d+ d+ d+

HF molecules H2O molecules NH3 molecules

Comparing the hydrogen bonds of HF, H2O and NH3 ; HF > H2O > NH3

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 57

 H 2O Although there are van der Waals forces between water molecules, the effect of
100
the hydrogen bonding is much stronger than that of the van der Waals forces.
For this reason, the boiling point of water is higher than expected.

HF If the boiling point of a substance is high, this tells us that the intermolecular
H2Te forces in this substance are also high.
0

NH3
The boiling points of the hydrides of the group 4A elements (CH4, SiH4 and
H2Se HI
SbH3
SnH4) increase gradually with increasing atomic number. Other groups (VA, VIA
H2 S HBr SbH4 and VIIA) show the same general trend, however, NH3, H2O and HF show an
HCl unexpected increase in boiling point. This is explained by the fact that these
AsH3

–100 PH3 GeH4

molecules have hydrogen bonding occurring between them. The boiling points
SiH4 don’t show the expected pattern. For example, if the curve that takes in H2Te,
H2Se, H2S is extended to the second period; the boiling point of water would be
expected to be around –90°C. However, the boiling point of water is 100°C and
CH4
so it can be summarized that hydrogen bonding increases the boiling point of
Because of hydrogen bonding the water by around 190°C.
boiling points of HF, H2O and NH3 are
greater than expected.

Fluorine, oxygen and nitrogen are the most electronegative elements.

What is the main type of bonding that must be overcome to carry out the
changes of state given below?

a. Fe(s) → Fe(l), b. H2O(l) → H2O(g), c. I2(s) → I2(l)

d. AlCl3(s) → AlCl3(l), e. S8(s) → S8(l)

58 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

a. Since iron is a metal, metallic bonds must be overcome.
b. H2O(l) contains hydrogen bonds between its molecules. Thus hydrogen
bonds must be overcome.
c. I2(iodine) is a nonpolar molecule and has van der Waals forces between the
molecules. So these bonds need to be overcome.
d. AlCl3(s) is an ionic crystal. The ionic bonds which form the ionic crystal must
be overcome.
e. S8, has van der Waals forces between its molecules, these bonds must be
overcome.

HOW DOES AN IRON WORK?

Fabric is a flexible, artificial substance made up of a network of natural or artificial fibres. It is formed
by interlacing loops of yarn or thread and matting the fibers together by heat and pressure.

When these threads are loosened the flat form of fabrics is damaged.

Cotton fabrics are made up of cellulose molecules. These molecules are bonded to each
other by hydrogen bonds which are easily broken by a sufficient amount of heat and
water. These broken bonds (between the threads) can be bound together again using
an iron. The iron breaks down the hydrogen bonds and then bonds them back
together in a regular way.

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 59

 Intermolecular
Substance Attracting Particles Physical Properties
Forces

– very high melting point

Network crystals – very hard
Covalent Atoms
(Ex : C, SiC, SiO2) – do not conduct electricity
(except graphite)

– hard or soft
Metals Positive cations and mobile – high melting point
Metallic
(Ex : Li, Cu, Pt, Fe, Hg) electrons – malleable and ductile
– conduct heat and electricity

– hard and brittle

– high melting point
Ionic Compounds
Electrostatic Positive and negative ions – aqueous solutions and
(Ex : NaCl, BaCl2, KNO3)
molten states conduct
electricity

– Van der Waals

Ex :
– Dipole - dipole Polar molecules.
H2O, NH3
– Hydrogen bond (partially negative and
– soft
Ex : positive atoms)
Molecular – Van der Waals – low melting point
Compounds H2S, SO2 – Dipole - dipole – nonconductors or poor
conductors of electricity
Nonpolar molecules.
Ex :
Van der Waals (momentarily partially
H2, Cl2, BF3, CCl4
negative and positive atoms)

Table 1: A summary of intermolecular forces

60 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

1. Explain why alkali and alkaline earth metals melt at lower 11. Compare the following substances according to their
temperatures than transition metals? electrical conductivity? Give your reasoning.
a. sugar solution
b. table salt solution
2. Arrange the alkali metals according to their metallic
c. vinegar
bond strength.

3. Arrange the given metals in order of increasing melting 12. Define hydrogen bonds. What are differences between
points. hydrogen bonds and dipole - dipole forces?
I. 11Na

II. 12Mg
13. For each of the given pairs determine the substance with
III. 19K higher boiling point. Give your reasoning.
a. C3H8; C5H12 b. CH4; CH3OH c. O2; S8
4. Which of the compounds in the following pairs has the d. N2; F2 e. diamond, graphite f. Cl2; F2
greatest ionic character?
g. SiO2; CO2 h. He; Ar
I. KF and KI
II. NaCl and KCl

14. Which one of the substances in the given pairs of

5. Define network covalent bonds; list four substances that compounds has the higher melting point?
have a network covalent structure. a. Br2, I2 b. NH3; NF3 c. Ne; N2
d. ICl; Cl2 e. SCl4; SCl6 f. Ne; Ar

6. The boiling points of silicon carbide and silicon oxide are g. HCl, H2 h. Fe; F2 i. Na2S; SO2
very high. Explain why this is so.

7. What are the differences in bonding between diamond 15. Which forces must be overcome in order to melt the
and graphite? following species.
a. Zn b. Ga c. NaCl
d. CaCl2 e. PF3 f. NCl3
8. Explain dipole - dipole attractive forces.
g. NH3 h. SO2 i. MgO
j. F2 k. Na l. SiC
9. What are van der Waals forces? What are the factors that
affect van der Waals forces?

16. Which of the following substances have only van der

10. Which forces are found in the following compounds? Waals forces between their molecules?
I. LiCl a. Ne b. CH4 c. O3
II. Na2O d. MgCl2 e. CO2 f. CO
III. CCl4 g. Na2O

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 61

1. Name Bond Type 6. I. Liquid helium
—————————— ——————————
I. Fluorine Van der Waals II. Liquid nitrogen
II. Hydrogen fluoride Hydrogen bond III. Liquid iron
III. Lithium fluoride Ionic bond Which of the above substances contain van der Waals
Above, a type of attractive force is given for each forces?
substance. Which of the matches is/are correct? A) I only B) II only C) I and II
A) I only B) II only C) I and II D) I and III E) I, II and III
D) II and III E) I, II and III

7. Under room conditions

2. Which one of the following contains only van der Waals I. H2 is a gas.
forces between its molecules? II. C2H5OH boils at a higher temperature than C3H8.
A) CO2 B) C2H5OH C) HCl D) H2O E) KCl III. The boiling point of CH4 is higher than that of H2O.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A) I only B) II only C) I and II
D) II and III E) I, II and III
3. Which of the following has the highest melting point?
A) Sodium B) Iodine C) HF D) Graphite E) Ice

8. Which of the following matches is wrong?

Substance Bond Type
———————— —————————
4. The strength of intermolecular forces affects the boiling A) Neon Van der Waals
points of substances. B) Bronze Metallic
Which one of the following substances has the highest C) Methyl alcohol Ionic
boiling point? D) Table salt Ionic
A) H2 B) H2O C) Na D) SiC E) CH3OH E) Silicon carbide Network covalent

5. I. Be and H2 have metallic bonds 9. Which of the following is/are correct for the bromine
II. H2 has van der Waals forces between its molecules molecule?

III. Be and H may form compounds with dipole-dipole I. It is a nonpolar molecule.

attractions between them. II. Van der Waals forces exist between the molecules.
Which of the above statements is/are correct? III. Its intramolecular bonds are nonpolar covalent.
A) I only B) II only C) I and II A) I only B) II only C) I and II
D) II and III E) I, II and III D) II and III E) I, II and III

62 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

10. Which one of the given compounds is different from the 15. Which of the following compounds does not have
others in terms of its electrical conductivity? hydrogen bonding between its molecules?

A) NaCl(l) B) Hg(l) C) KCl(s) A) HF B) NH3 C) H2O D) C2H5OH E) HCl

D) NaCl(aq) E) HCl(aq)

11. Which of the following species has the highest boiling 16. Which one of the following compounds does not have
point? dipole-dipole forces between its molecules?

A) HCl B) CH4 C) CO2 D) HF E) Ne A) HCl B) MgCl2 C) H2S D) PH3 E) NF3

12. Which of the following elements has a network covalent

structure? 17. In which of the following are the intermolecular forces
listed correctly from weakest to strongest for small
A) 4Be B) 8O C) 11Na D) 6C E) 17Cl
molecules?

A) Van der Waals, hydrogen, dipole – dipole

B) Van der Waals, dipole – dipole, hydrogen
C) Hydrogen, Van der Waals, dipole – dipole
D) Hydrogen, dipole – dipole, Van der Waals
13. Which of the following gives the correct order for the E) Dipole – dipole, Van der Waals, hydrogen
melting points of 11Na, 13Al and 18Ar?

A) Na>Al>Ar B) Al>Na>Ar C) Ar>Al>Na

D) Al>Ar>Na E) Na>Ar>Al

18. Hydrogen fluoride boils at 19.5°C while hydrogen

chloride boils at –84°C. Which one of the following
statements accounts for this difference?
A) HCl has greater van der Waals forces
14. Which of the following gives the correct order for the
B) HF has intermolecular hydrogen bonds.
boiling points of F2, Cl2 and Br2.
C) HF has greater van der Waals forces
A) F2>Cl2>Br2 B) F2>Br2>Cl2 C) Cl2>F2>Br2 D) HCl has intermolecular hydrogen bonds
D) Br2>Cl2>F2 E) Br2>F2>Cl2 E) HCl has ionic bonds.

Bonds In Solids And Liquids 63

 WORD SEARCH D I P O L E D I P N O L E F E
Try to find out the hidden words given below. O R C E S O C C U E R B E T L
W E E N P O L A R G M O L E O
BOND IONIC
C U L E S T K W W O I N L Q P
CRYSTAL METALLIC C R Y S T A L R T R I V G M I
DIPOLE NETWORK
N E T W O R K D J D R T E T D
I I E L Q W Q A J Y N T I J Q
GRAPHITE OCTET C U L L B Y A T D H A O U E O
HYDROGEN K U L U O D J P E L T M B T S
C N V C A X W J L Y U Q E I Q
S I T Z S K I I O H I A F H E
D E N E I M C O D B S V U P B
T Z K O G J H B T M D D Z A V
I Z I J I C U V M J P X B R J
N R C K J M A B H I W K U G F

DOUBLE PUZZLE HDNYRGOE DOBN

The following words 11 1 29
have been jumbled up,
POEDIL PEILOD
you must enter the 7 8 12 30
correct spellings and
tranfer the numbered TILCAMLE BNDO
4 16 10 31 25 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
letters to the secret
message. RIELURLEMTOCNA
2 21 26 22 27 8 9 10 11 12

NAV RED SALWA

24 15 23 3 20 17 11 13 14 15 16 17 18

REENOCSAN
14 9 6 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

LALOOPETR
13 32 18 5 26 27 10 28 29 30 31 32

CRYPTOGRAM
Below is a phrase about bonding. Try to find out the whole phrase with the given clues.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
25 9 14 5 23 16 13

14 19 6 10 23 3 18 2 10 4 26 2 25 23 9 18 23 4 10 16 25 9 9 10 4 6

6 22 10 5 22 13 16 14 4 25 2 5 23 18 5 10 23 6 14 10 16 18 9

6 22 10 16 26 12 16 6 25 19 4 10 16

64 Bonds In Solids And Liquids

 GLOSSARY

Allotropes : The existence of more than one physical form of an Line representation : Each line represents one bond or a lone
element. pair of electrons.

Atomic radius : The distance from the nucleus to the outer most Lone pair : A pair of electrons found in the valance shell of an
electron orbital in an atom. atom that is not shared with another atom.

Bond length : The distance between the nuclei of two bonding Metallic bond : The attractive force that holds metal atoms
atoms in a molecule. together.

Chemical bond : The attractive force that holds atoms together Network solid : Covalent substances whose atoms are bonded
in a compound. together with a network structure.

Covalent bond : A bond formed by the sharing of electrons Non–polar covalent bond : A covalent bond that is formed
between two non-metal atoms. between two atoms with the same electronegativity values.

Dipole–Dipole forces : The attractions of the positive and Octet rule : The rule that states an atom tends to lose or gain
negative poles of molecules are called dipole–dipole forces. electrons until it has eight electrons in its valence shell.

Dot representation : In this representation, the valence electrons Orbital representation : Orbital representation showing atomic
are shown around the symbols as dots. orbitals in which the electrons are indicated as paired or unpaired.

Double bond : A covalent bond in which two pairs of electrons Pi (π) bond : A bond that results from the sideways overlap of a
are shared. pair of p orbitals.

Electronegativity : A measure of the tendency of an atom to Polar covalent bond : A covalent bond, that is formed between
attract bonding electrons. two atoms with different electronegativities.

Electron configuration : The arrangement of electrons in Resonance structure : If the valence electrons in a molecule are
atomic orbitals. capable of several alternative arrangements which differ only a
small amount in energy each arrangement is called a resonance
Ground state : The lowest energy state of an atom, molecule or
structure.
ion.
Sigma (σ) bond : A bond formed by the end to end overlap of
Hybridization : The combination of orbitals from different
pure or hybridized atomic orbitals.
energy levels to form new orbitals all with the same energy.
sp hybrid orbitals : Hybrid orbitals formed by the combination
Hydrogen bond : An extra strong dipole-dipole attraction that
of one s and one p atomic orbital.
occurs between molecules in which hydrogen is covalently
bonded to the electronegative elements N, O and F. sp2 hybrid orbitals : Hybrid orbitals formed by combination of
one s and two p atomic orbitals.
Intermolecular forces : Attractive forces between neighboring
molecules. sp3 hybrid orbitals : Hybrid orbitals formed by combination of
one s and three p atomic orbitals.
Ionic bond : A bond formed by the complete transfer of electrons
between metal and nonmetal atoms. Triple bond : A bond in which three pairs of electrons are shared.

Ionization energy : The energy required to remove an electron Valence electron : The electrons of an atom which are found in
from a free atom or ion in the gaseous state. the outer most energy level.

Lewis structure : The structural formula drawn with Lewis Van der Waals forces : The intermolecular forces between
symbols that shows the valence electrons using dots. nonpolar molecules in the liquid and solid state.

66 Chemical Bonds
 SUPPLEMENTARY Q UESTIONS
Chapter_1 CHEMICAL BONDS
1. F > N > P > Si 8. Na2O, KCl, CaBr2

4. a. N3– : 1s2 2s2 2p6 9. KF > AlF3 > MgO > NaCl > CaS

c. S2– : 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 13. a. Ionic bond

e. Ag+ : 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s0 4d10 c. Polar covalent bond
e. Both ionic and covalent
5. a. B 6. a. H F
22. a. 1 σ, 1 π
c. P c. H C C H
c. 1 σ, 2 π
e. Br e. Cl N Cl e. 3 σ, 2 π
Cl

g. [ C N ]-
2-
i. O S O
O

Chapter_2 BONDS IN LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS

2. Li > Na > K > Rb > Cs > Fr 14. a. I2 c. N2 e. SCl6 g. HCl k. Na2S
3. II > I > III 15. a. metallic bond c. ionic bond e. dipole-dipole
4. KF ; KCl g. hydrogen bond i. ionic bond k. metallic bond
11. b > c > a 16. Ne, CH4, CO2
13. a. C5H12 c. S8 e. diamond g. SiO2

MULTIPLE C HOICE

Chapter_1 CHEMICAL BONDS Chapter_2 BONDS IN LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS

1. A 5. E 9. D 13. B 17. B 1. E 5. E 9. E 13. B 17. B
2. E 6. C 10. B 14. D 18. D 2. A 6. C 10. C 14. D 18. B
3. C 7. E 11. C 15. B 3. D 7. C 11. D 15. E
4. D 8. C 12. A 16. C 4. D 8. C 12. D 16. B

Chemical Bonds 67
 PUZZLE

Chapter_1 CHEMICAL BONDS Chapter_2 BONDS IN LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS

CRISS – CROSS PUZZLE WORD SEARCH

1
C
2
T D I P O L E D I P N O L E F E
O R O R C E S O C C U E R B E T L
V I
3
L W E E N P O L A R G M O L E O
A P
4
S P 3 E C U L E S T K W W O I N L Q P
L L
5
P I W C R Y S T A L R T R I V G M I
6
E L E C T R O N E G A T
7
I V I T Y N E T W O R K D J D R T E T D
N E L M S I I E L Q W Q A J Y N T I J Q
8
C T
9
I T A A C U L L B Y A T D H A O U E O
10
B O N D
11
F O U R R K U L U O D J P E L T M B T S
O N A C N V C A X W J L Y U Q E I Q
R I
12
H Y B R I D I Z A T I O N S I T Z S K I I O H I A F H E
D C E
D E N E I M C O D B S V U P B
I
13
S D
T Z K O G J H B T M D D Z A V
14
N O N P O L A R
15 I Z I J I C U V M J P X B R J
B
E
N R C K J M A B H I W K U G F
A A
16 17
T F L U O R I N E
E C T
T
E
T

DOUBLE PUZZLE
HYDROGEN BOND

DIPOLE DIPOLE Secret Message

DIAMOND
METALLIC BOND
IS THE
C RY P T O G R A M INTERMOLECULAR
HARDEST
C H E M I C A L B O N D I S T H E AT T R AC T I O N A L VAN DER WAALS NATURAL
F O R C E T H AT H O L D S AT O M S RESONANCE MATERIAL
TOGETHER IN COMPOUNDS.
ALLOTROPE

C RY P T O G R A M
INTERMOLECULAR FORCES AFFECT

T H E P H Y S I C A L P R O P E RT I E S O F

T H E S U B S TA N C E S .

68 Chemical Bonds
 INDEX

abrasive, 53 ionization energy, 6, 12 repulsive force, 15, 35

allotropes, 54 kinetic energy, 50 resonance structure, 41, 42

allotropic form, 55 lubricant, 54 scanning tunneling microscope, 55

attractive force, 50, 57 malleable, 60 sea of electrons, 50

boiling point, 52, 53, 56, 58 melting point, 6, 50, 60 sigma bond, 38, 39

chlorine, 8, 17, 18, 20, 56 metallic bond, 50, 51, 52, 59 silicon carbide, 53, 54

covalent substance, 48, 56 methane, 17, 35, 38, 56 single bond, 38, 41, 42

density, 20, 58, 60 mobile electrons, 60 sodium chloride crystal, 13

diamond, 6, 53, 54 mobile ions, 59 stable octet, 15

dipole-dipole attractive forces, 8, 50, 57 molecular covalent compounds, 53 strength of a metallic bond, 52

ductile, 52, 60 molten, 52, 55, 60 tetrahedral structure, 31, 53

electron sea, 50, 52 network covalent bond, 54 thermodynamic, 9

electronegativity, 6, 7, 8, 17, 56 network covalent solid, 55 trigonal bipyramidal, 43

electronic devices, 55 network solids, 50, 53 trigonal planar, 29, 30

electrostatic, 12, 13, 52, 60 nonconductors, 54, 60 trigonal pyramidal, 31, 32, 35

fluorine, 8, 9, 25, 28, 36, 43, 57, 58 orbital, 8, 22, 24, 28, 33, 39, 42, 43 triple bond, 16, 25, 38

fullerenes, 55 overlap, 8, 21, 31, 38, 39, 40, 54 unbonded electron pair, 9

graphite, 54, 60 oxygen, 6, 15, 16, 28, 33, 41 unhybridized, 39, 40, 41

hexagonal structure, 54 pentagon, 55 unpaired electrons, 22, 25, 28, 34

hybridization, 21, 24 physical state, 50 unshared electron, 18

hydrogen bonds, 50, 57, 58, 60 polar covalent substance, 56 valence electron, 10, 42

intermolecular forces, 53, 56, 57, 58, 60 polarity, 8, 13, 17, 57 valence orbital, 34

iodine, 56, 59 propane, 56 van der Waals forces, 56, 57

ionic bond, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20 quartz, 6, 54

ionic solid, 50, 52 R.S. Mulliken, 6

Chemical Bonds 69
Hydrogen
1
H
PERIODIC
Name Symbol

1.01 1 Iron Fe
2
Lithium Li Beryllium Be

55.85 26

6.94 3 9.01 4

Atomic Atomic
Sodium Na Magnesium Mg mass number

22.99 11 24.31 12
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Potassium K Calcium Ca Scandium Sc Titanium Ti Vanadium V Chromium Cr Manganese Mn Iron Fe Cobalt Co

39.10 19 40.08 20 44.96 21 47.88 22 50.94 23 52.00 24 54.94 25 55.85 26 58.93 27

Rubidium Rb Strontium Sr Yttrium Y Zirconium Zr Niobium Nb Molybdenum Mo Technetium Tc Ruthenium Ru Rhodium Rh

85.47 37 87.62 38 88.91 39 91.22 40 92.91 41 95.94 42 (98) 43 101.07 44 102.91 45

Cesium Cs Barium Ba Lanthanides Lutetium Lu Hafnium Hf Tantalum Ta Tungsten W Rhenium Re Osmium Os Iridium Ir

132.91 55 137.33 56
* 57-70 174.97 71 178.49 72 180.95 73 183.84 74 186.21 75 190.2 76 192.22 77

Francium Fr Radium Ra Actinides Lawrencium Lr Rutherfordium Rf Dubnium Db Seaborgium Sg Bohrium Bh Hassium Hs Meitnerium Mt

{223} 87 (226) 88
** 89-102 (262) 103 (261) 104 (262) 105 (266) 106 (264) 107 (269) 108 (268) 109

Lanthanum La Cerium Ce Praseodymium Pr Neodymium Nd Promethium Pm Samarium Sm

* Lanthanides
138.91 57 140.12 58 140.91 59 144.24 60 (145) 61 150.36 62

Actinium Ac Thorium Th Protactinium Pa Uranium U Neptunium Np Plutonium Pu

** Actinides
(227.03) 89 232.04 90 231.04 91 238.03 92 (237.05) 93 (244) 94
 18
TABLE Helium He

4.0026 2
13 14 15 16 17
Boron B Carbon C Nitrogen N Oxygen O Fluorine F Neon Ne

10.81 5 12.01 6 14.0067 7 15.9994 8 18.9984 9 20.18 10

Silicon Si Phosphorus P Sulfur S Chlorine Cl Argon Ar

Aluminum Al

28.09 14 30.97 15 32.07 16 35.45 17 39.95 18

26.98 13
10 11 12 Arsenic As Selenium Se Bromine Br Krypton Kr
Nickel Ni Copper Cu Zinc Zn Gallium Ga Germanium Ge

74.92 33 78.96 34 79.90 35 83.80 36

58.69 28 63.55 29 65.41 30 69.723 31 72.64 32
Tellurium Te Iodine I Xenon Xe
Palladium Pd Silver Ag Cadmium Cd Indium In Tin Sn Antimony Sb

127.60 52 126.90 53 131.29 54

106.42 46 107.87 47 112.41 48 114.817 49 118.71 50 121.76 51
Astatine At Radon Rn
Platinum Pt Gold Au Mercury Hg Thallium Tl Lead Pb Bismuth Bi Polonium Po

(210) 85 (222) 86
195.08 78 196.97 79 200.59 80 204.383 81 207.19 82 208.980 83 (209) 84

Darmstadium Uun Unununium Uuu Ununbium Uub Ununquadium Uuq

118
(271) 110 (272) 111 (285) 112 113 289 114 115 116 117

Europium Eu Gadolinium Gd Terbium Tb Dysprosium Dy Holmium Ho Erbium Er Thulium Tm Ytterbium Yb

151.96 63 157.25 64 158.92 65 162.50 66 164.93 67 167.26 68 168.93 69 173.04 70

Americium Am Curium Cm Berkelium Bk Californium Cf Einsteinium Es Fermium Fm Mendelevium Md Nobelium No

(243) 95 (247) 96 (247) 97 (251) 98 (252) 99 (257) 100 (258) 101 (259) 102