Ch. 3: Bonding and Chemical Interactions Flashcards
what is the basis behind why covalent bonds form?
- when two or more atoms with similar EN interact, the energy required to form ions through the complete transfer of one or more electrons is greater than the energy that would be released among upon formation of an ionic bond
when two atoms of similar tendency to attract electrons form a compound, it is energetically unfavorable to create ions
- instead of transferring electrons to form octets, they share electrons
there is an attraction that each electron in the shared pair has for the two positive nuclei of the bonded atoms
why do covalent compounds have lower melting and boiling points?
because they contain discrete molecular units with relatively weak intermolecular interactions
why are covalent compounds poor conductors of electricity in the liquid state or in aq. solns?
because they do not break down into constituent ions
why do single, double, or triple covalent bonds form?
the formation of one covalent bond may not be sufficient to fill the valence shell for a given atom
defn: bond order
the number of shared electron airs between two atoms
what is the bond order for a single bond? double bond? triple bond?
single bond: bond order one
double bond: bond order two
triple bond: bond order three
what are the three important characteristics of a covalent bond?
bond length
bond energy
polarity
defn: bond length
the average distance between the two nuclei of atoms in a bond
as the # of shared electron pairs increases, the two atoms are pulled closer together, resulting in a decrease in bond length
defn: bond energy
the energy required to break a bond by separating its components into their isolated, gaseous atomic states
the greater the number of pairs of electrons shared between the atomic nuclei, the more energy required to break the bonds holding the atoms together
the greater the bond energy, the stronger the bond (generally)
defn: polarity
occurs when two atoms have a relative difference in electronegativities
when these atoms come together in covalent bonds, they must negotiate the degree to which the electron pairs will be shared
the atom with the higher electronegativity gets the larger share of the electron density
a polar bond creates a dipole, with the positive end of the dipole at the less EN atom and the negative end at the more EN atom
what is the relationship between the number of covalent bonds, bond length, bond energy, and bond strength?
1 bond = longest, weakest, lowest bond energy
2 bonds = medium length, medium strength, medium bond energy
3 bonds = shortest, strongest, highest bond energy
defn: nonpolar covalent bond
when atoms that have identical or nearly identical EN’s share electron pairs, they do so with an equal distribution of electrons
there is no separation of charge across the bond
what set of molecules contain perfectly nonpolar covalent bonds?
bonds between atoms of the same element (have exactly the same EN) –> exhibit a purely equal electron distribution
what are the 7 common diatomic molecules?
H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2, Br2, I2
what is the EN difference that qualifies as nonpolar? polar? ionic?
nonpolar: 0 - 0.5
polar: 0.5 - 1.7
ionic: 1.7 - 2.0
for the MCAT: if molecule in this range, has a metal and a nonmetal it is effectively ionic, otherwise it is polar covalent
defn: polar covalent bonds
atoms that differ moderately in their EN’s share their electrons unevenly
the difference in their EN’s is not enough to form an ionic bond, but is sufficient to cause a charge separation across the bond
the more EN element takes on a greater portion of the electron density (a partial negative charge)
the less EN element takes on a smaller portion of the electron density (a partial positive charge)
defn + eqn: dipole moment
the dipole moment of a polar bond or polar molecule is a vector quantity given by the equation
p = qd
p = the dipole moment
q = the magnitude of the charge
d = the displacement vector separating the two partial charges
defn: polar molecule
a molecule that has a significant separation of positive and negative charges
unit: dipole moment vector
Debye’s (coulomb-meters)
defn: coordinate covalent bond
both of the shared electrons originated on the same atom
generally: a lone pair of one atom attacked another atom with an unhybridized p-orbital to form a bond
indistinguishable from any other covalent bond
typically found in Lewis acid-base reactions
defn: bonding vs. nonbonding electrons
bonding electrons = the electrons involved in a covalent bond and are in the valence shell
nonbonding electrons = the electrons in the valence shell not involved in covalent bonds
defn: lone pairs
unshared electron pairs (only associated with one atomic nucleus)
what was the Lewis structure system developed for?
to keep track of bonded and nonbonded electron pairs
defn: formal charge
the difference in the number of valence electrons assigned to an atom in a Lewis structure of a particular molecule and the number of valence electrons in the neutral atom (normally found in the atom’s valence shell)
what do Lewis structures represent if they differ in bond connectivity or arrangement? if they differ in arrangement of electron pairs?
- different possible compounds
- different resonance forms of a single compound
do Lewis structures represent actual geometry? theoretical geometry?
no no no!
what is the most stable arrangement of a compound as viewed through Lewis dot diagrams?
the arrangement that minimizes the number and magnitude of formal charges
defn: Lewis dot diagram
the chemical symbol of an element surrounded by dots which each represent one of the s or p valence electrons of the atom
the number of dots comes from group members (group 1 has 1 dot)
what are the steps for drawing a Lewis structure? HCN is your example ifneeded.
- draw out the compound’s backbone (the arrangement of the atoms) –> the least EN atom is the central atom, H always is terminal, F, Cl, Br, and I are usually terminal
- count all the valence electrons of the atoms (molecule is sum of all the atoms present)
HCN has 10 total
- draw single bonds between the central atom and the surrounding atoms (each single bond = a pair of electrons)
- complete the octets of all atoms bonded to the central atom, using remaining valence electrons left to be assigned (H is an exception)
- Place any extra electrons on the central atom
- If the central atom has less than an octet, try to write double or triple bonds between the central and surrounding atoms using the lone pairs on the surrounding atoms
what is the purpose of calculating the formal charge of an atom?
to determine if a lewis structure is representative of the actual arrangement of atoms in a compound