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Understanding Covalent Bonding

Apr 9, 2025

Lecture on Covalent Bonding

Objectives

  • Describe how electrons are shared in covalent bonding.
  • Draw diagrams to illustrate covalent bonding in hydrogen, chlorine, and hydrogen chloride.

Key Concepts

  • Covalent Bonding: Occurs when non-metal atoms bond together by sharing electrons.
  • Ionic Bonding: Involves transfer of electrons from metals to non-metals, forming ions.
  • Stable Electronic Structure: Achieved by having a full outer energy level, similar to noble gases.

Detailed Breakdown

Hydrogen Molecule (Hâ‚‚)

  • Formula: Hâ‚‚ indicates two hydrogen atoms bonded.
  • Hydrogen Atom:
    • Has one electron.
    • Requires one more electron to fill its outer energy level (maximum of two electrons).
  • Covalent Bond Formation:
    • Two hydrogen atoms share a pair of electrons.
    • Both achieve a full outer energy level (two electrons), similar to noble gases.
    • This is represented by an energy level diagram, dot and cross diagram, and stick diagram.

Chlorine Molecule (Clâ‚‚)

  • Chlorine Atom:
    • Found in group 7 of the periodic table.
    • Has seven electrons in its outer energy level.
    • Requires one more electron to fill the outer energy level.
  • Covalent Bond Formation:
    • Two chlorine atoms share a pair of electrons to complete their outer shells.
    • Represented with energy level diagrams, dot and cross diagrams, and stick diagrams.

Hydrogen Chloride (HCl)

  • Components:
    • Hydrogen (H) and Chlorine (Cl) are both non-metals.
  • Covalent Bond Formation:
    • Hydrogen shares its one electron with chlorine, while chlorine shares one of its seven outer electrons.
    • Both achieve full outer energy levels through the shared electron pair.
    • Representations include energy level diagrams, dot and cross diagrams, and stick diagrams.

Diagrams

  • Energy Level Diagrams: Show overlapping outer energy levels with shared electrons.
  • Dot and Cross Diagrams: Highlight the shared electrons specifically in the outer energy level.
  • Stick Diagrams: Simplified representation using a line to denote the shared pair of electrons.

Additional Resources

  • Questions and practice exercises available in the revision workbook linked in the lecture.

Summary

  • Covalent bonds involve the sharing of electron pairs between non-metal atoms leading to stable electronic configurations. Understanding of these concepts is crucial for representing molecular structures in chemistry.

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