Understanding Chemical Bonds: Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic

Understanding Chemical Bonds

Ionic Bond: This bond occurs when metallic elements interact with non-metal atoms. In this case, the metal atoms donate electrons to the non-metal atoms, becoming positively and negatively charged ions, respectively. These oppositely charged ions are attracted by strong electrical forces, being tightly bound and giving rise to an ionic compound. These electrical forces are called ionic bonds.

Covalent Bond: Covalent bonds are the forces that hold non-metallic atoms together. These atoms have many electrons in their outermost level (valence electrons) and tend to gain electrons rather than transfer them to acquire the stability of the electronic structure of a noble gas. Therefore, electrons from non-metallic atoms cannot be transferred to form ions of opposite sign. In this case, the link is formed by sharing a pair of electrons between two atoms, one from each atom. The shared electron pair is common to the two atoms and keeps them together, so that both acquire the electronic structure of a noble gas.

Molecules are usually formed by small groups of atoms linked by covalent bonds.

Metallic Bond: Atoms of metals have few electrons in their last layer, usually 1, 2, or 3. These atoms easily lose those electrons and become positive ions, e.g., Na⁺, Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺. The resulting positive ions are arranged in space forming a metal grid. The valence electrons detached from atoms form a cloud of electrons that can move throughout the network. Thus, the entire set of positive ions from the metal is joined by a cloud of negatively charged electrons that surrounds them.

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