Kaplan — General Chemistry Flashcards
Molecules
Combination of elements via covalent bonding
Chemical bonds
Strong attractive forces formed via the interaction of valence electrons of the combining atoms
Octet rule
States that an atom tends to bond with other atoms so that is has 8 electrons in its outermost shell
Exceptions to octet rule (3)
- Incomplete octet — stable with fewer than 8 electrons → hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron
- Expanded octet — element in period 3 or greater → phosphorous, sulfur, chlorine
- Odd numbers of electrons — molecules that cannot distribute to give 8 to each atom → nitric oxide
Ionic bonding
One or more electrons from an atom with a low ionization energy (e.g. metal) are transferred to an atom with a high electron affinity (e.g. non-metal) & the resulting electrostatic attraction between opposite charges is what holds the ions together
Covalent bonding
Electron pair is shared between two atoms
Polar covalent bonding
Sharing of the electron pair is unequal
Non-polar covalent bonding
Sharing of the electron pair is equal
Coordinate covalent
Both of the shared electrons are contributed by only one of the two atoms
When a lone pair of one atom attacked another atom with an unhybridized p-orbital to form a bond
Cation
Positively charged atom
Atom that loses the electron
Anion
Negatively charged atom
Atom that gains the electrons
Crystalline lattice
Compound form of ionic constituents consisting of repeating positive and negative ions
Attractive forces between oppositely charged are maximized, repulsive forces between ions of like charge are minimized
Bond order
Number of shared electron pairs shared between two atoms
Bond length
Average distance between the two nuclei of atoms in a bond
Single > double > triple
Bond energy
Energy required to break a bond by separating its components into their isolated, gaseous atomic states
Triple > double > single
Polarity
When two atoms have a relative difference in electronegativity
Atom with high electronegativity have a larger share of electron density
Dipole moment
Vector quantity given by equation p = qd, where p is dipole moment, q is magnitude fo charge, d is displacement vector separating the two charges
Units of dipole moment
Debye units (coulomb-meters)
Bonding electrons
Electrons involved in a covalent bond & located in valence shell
Non-bonding electrons
Electrons located in valence shell & not involved in covalent bonds
Lewis structure
System of notation developed to keep track of bonded and non-bonded electron pairs
Formal charge
Formal charge = number of electrons in atom’s valence shell — number of non-bonding electrons — half of the number of bonding electrons
How to make a Lewis structure
(1) Draw backbone of the compound
(2) Count all the valence electrons of the atoms
(3) Draw single bonds between central atoms and atoms surrounding it
(4) Complete the octets of all surrounding atoms
(5) Complete the octet of the central atom next, adjusting the single bonds to double or triple bonds
Resonance structures (Lewis)
All possible resonance structures connected by a double-headed arrow
Resonance hybrid
Actual structure of compound formed by relative combination of all resonance structures
Stability of different resonance structures
- Small or no formal charges
- Less separation between opposite charges
- Negative charges on electronegative atoms
Number of electrons for hydrogen
Stable with 2
Number of electrons for helium
Stable with 2
Number of electrons for lithium
Stable with 2
Number of electrons for beryllium
Stable with 4
Number of electrons for boron
Stable with 6
Valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR)
Predicts the molecular geometry of covalently bonded molecules
States that the 3-D arrangement of atoms surrounding a central atom is determined by the repulsions between bonding and non-bonding electrons in the valence shell of the central atom
Regions of electron density
Lone pairs and bonds
2 regions of electron density
Linear
3 regions of electron density
Trigonal planar
4 regions of electron density
Tetrahedral