C2 - Bonding, structure and properties of matter Flashcards
what are ions and how are they formed?
Ions are charged particles that are formed when electrons are transferred
which groups are the most likely to form ions?
groups 1, 2, 6 and 7
what are cations?
positive ions
what are anions?
negative ions
what are three types of bonding?
ionic, covalent and metallic
what happens in ionic bonding?
when a metal and a non-metal react together, the metal atom loses electrons to form a positively charged ion and the non-metal gains these electrons to form a negatively charged ion. These oppositely charged ions are strongly attracted to one another by electrostatic forces. This attraction is called an ionic bond
what structure do ionic compounds form?
a giant ionic lattice
what are the properties of ionic compounds?
they all have high melting and boiling points due to the many strong bonds between the ions.
When they’re solid, the ions are held in place, so the compounds can’t conduct electricity, however when they melt the ions are free to move and they’ll carry electric current.
some ionic compounds dissolve in water. The ions separate and are all free to move in the solution, so they’ll carry electric current
what is an empirical formula?
the empirical formula of a substance is the simplest whole number ratio of the atoms of each element present
what are the three steps to working out an empirical formula?
- look at the diagram to work out what ions are in the compound
- work out what charges the ions will form
- balance the charges so the charge of the empirical formula is zero
what makes covalent bonds very strong?
the positively charged nuclei of the bonded atoms are attracted to the shared pair of electrons by electrostatic forces
what are dot and cross diagrams useful for? what are their drawbacks?
Dot and cross diagrams are useful for showing which atoms the electrons in a covalent bond come from, but they don’t show the relative sizes of the atoms, or how they are arranged in space
how can you find the molecular formula of a simple molecular compound from a diagram?
by counting up how many atoms of each element there are
what are simple molecular substances?
small molecules containing a few atoms joined together by covalent bonds
what is the formula for methane?
CH4
what is the formula for ammonia?
NH3
what are the properties of simple molecular structures?
- held together with strong covalent bonds
- weak intermolecular forces
- low melting and boiling point - most molecular substances are gases or liquids at room temperature
- don’t conduct electricity
as molecules get bigger, does the strength of the intermolecular forces increase or decrease? Do the melting and boiling points increase or decrease?
increase, increase
what are three structures that have covalent bonds?
simple molecular substances, polymers and giant covalent substances
what are polymers?
long chains of repeating units
what do you do instead of drawing out a whole long polymer molecule, which can contain thousands or even millions of atoms?
you can draw the shortest repeating section (repeating unit)
how do you find the molecular formula of a polymer?
write down the formula of the repeating unit in brackets and put an ‘n’ outside
are the intermolecular forces between polymer molecules smaller or larger than between simple molecular substances?
larger
what state are most polymers at room temperature?
solid
are the intermolecular forces between polymer molecules stronger or weaker than ionic and covalent bonds?
weaker