Types of chemical bonds
Atoms are the building blocks
of all substances. But what is it that keeps atoms connected together? They are
held together by CHEMICAL BONDS,
strong attractive forces between atoms. Without these ties that bind, the
universe would be nothing more than a mass chaos of individual atoms.
As you sit reading this
sentence, billions of atoms surround you. When any two of them approach each
other, their outermost electrons come into close contact. Recall that electrons
are negatively charged particles, so a chance meeting between atoms usually
results in the two repelling each other. Occasionally, however, atoms will stick
together by forming a chemical bond.
There are two main types of
bonding discussed here. A COVALENT BOND
results when two atoms "share" valence electrons between them. An IONIC
BOND occurs when one atom gains a valence
electron from a different atom, forming a negative ion (ANION)
and a positive ion (CATION),
respectively. These oppositely charged ions are attracted to each other, forming
an ionic bond.
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Electronegativity