sometimes atoms gain or lose electrons to become ions and then those ions might form ionic compounds with one another but sometimes atoms do not gain or lose electrons when forming compounds instead they share electrons with one another to form coent bonds this is when one electron from each atom feels the pole of the other atom's nucleus which bonds the two atoms together when calent bonds occur there are no formal charges involved so there are no ions just neutral atoms so we could call these coent compounds or molecular compounds these are typically formed when non-metals react with one another molecules don't always fall strictly into the category of ionic compound or calent compound but for now it will suffice to assume that molecules are either ionic or coent the most common calent bonds you will see happen between carbon and carbon carbon and hydrogen carbon and oxygen hydrogen and oxygen carbon and nitrogen hydrogen and nitrogen or carbon and any hogen these are the coent bonds that comprise most organic compounds which are compounds made of these elements the ones found in living organisms so if you see a molecular formula consisting of only non-metals you can bet that it is a calent compound whereas if a metal is involved it is likely an ionic compound there are some coal compounds that consist of a metal and a non-metal like al3 the combination of aluminum and chlorine but we can stick to a general rule of thumb when assessing the kinds of bonds that elements will make with one another now that we understand the different kinds of bonds atoms can make with one another and therefore the different kinds of compounds that result when atoms combined we are ready to learn how to name different types of molecules so that we can communicate with one another about chemistry