Bonding - What it is and Why it happens

Bonding - What it is and Why it happens

It's all about the Electrons!

Electrons are

• Subatomic Negatively Charged Particles

• Found in Clouds of Probability around the Nucleus

• Equal to the number of Protons...for now

The Noble Gases

• Have completely Full Valence Electron Shells

• Except for Helium (Which has 2) this means they have 8 electrons.

• They are Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon, and theoretically Oganesson

Valence Electrons

The Periodic Table allows us to see the pattern that valence electrons follow

The First Column

All of the elements in the first column have 1 valence electron. This means that it will form bonds that allow it to (hopefully) give away that one electron so it can look like a Noble Gas

The Second Column

All of the elements in the second column have 2 valence electrons. Like the first column, these will form bonds that allow it to give away both electrons so it can look like a Noble Gas. Because it has to lose 2, it's not as reactive as the first column.

The 13th Column (sometimes it's called 3A)

The elements in the thirteenth column have 3 valence electrons. A very interesting thing begins to happen here as the size of the atom begins to play a role in Bonding. The Smallest Atom - Boron, likes to share electrons instead of giving them away. Everyone else in the column is looking to lose all three electrons.

The 14th Column (also called 4A)

The elements in the Fourteenth column have 4 valence electrons. These elements are halfway between noble gasses and as such will change the types of bonds they form based on what they bond with.

The 15th Column (also called 5A)

The elements in the Fifteenth column have 5 valence electrons. These elements are prone to form bonds where they either receive the electrons from an element like the ones in Columns 1 & 2, or they will share electrons in an effort to obtain Three more electrons (which will make them look like a Noble Gas)

The 16th Column (also called 6A)

The elements in the Sixteenth column have 6 valence electrons. These elements are prone to form bonds where they either receive the electrons from an element like the ones in Columns 1 & 2, or they will share electrons in an effort to obtain two more electrons (which will make them look like a Noble Gas). These are more reactive than the elements in Column 15

The 17th Column (also called 7A)

The elements in the Seventeenth column have 7 valence electrons. These elements are one electron short of looking like a noble gas. They tend to be very reactive, looking to form bonds that will get them that last electron.

The 18th Column (The Noble Gases)

The elements in the last column have 8 valence electrons (except helium which has 2). These elements have completely full, very stable electron shells. As such, they tend to not form any bonds whatsoever. Much like Goldilocks, these are just right.

Multiple Choice

How many Valence electrons does an atom from Column 15 have in its valence shell?

• 1

• 3

• 5

• 15

Bonds - Chemical Bonds

• Since the Goal of all atoms is to get to that Noble Gas configuration; the type of bond that is formed is based on the atoms involved.

• There are three types of chemical bonds: Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic

Ionic Bonds

Ionic Bonds are formed when one atom DONATES its extra electrons to another. This causes the ATOMS to become IONS. The Ions are then held together by their opposite charges. These tend to form between Metallic Atoms (columns 1 and 2, plus the elements in the d and f blocks) and Nonmetallic Atoms (columns 15,16 and 17)

Covalent Bonds

Covalent Bonds are formed when one atom SHARES its electrons with another by overlapping. This causes the ATOMS to behave as though they BOTH have full Valence Shells. These tend to form between atoms of columns 14-17

Metallic Bonds

Metallic Bonds are formed when a group of metal atoms who all are looking to GIVE AWAY their extra electrons get together and SPREAD their electrons out in a process called DELOCALIZATION. This results in atoms with extremely loosely held electrons (and is the reason why metals can conduct electricity!)