Chemical Bonding Basics Flashcards

Grade 8 · Science · Flashcards

Essential vocabulary and concepts for understanding how atoms form chemical bonds and compounds.

Flashcards

Chemical bond: A force of attraction that holds two atoms together in a compound.
Valence electrons: Electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom; they determine how an atom bonds.
Ionic bond: Bond formed by the transfer of electrons between a metal and nonmetal, creating oppositely charged ions.
Covalent bond: Bond formed when two nonmetal atoms share one or more pairs of electrons.
Metallic bond: Bond in metals formed by a 'sea' of delocalized electrons surrounding positively charged metal ions.
Ion: A charged atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained electrons.
Cation: A positively charged ion; formed when an atom loses electrons.
Anion: A negatively charged ion; formed when an atom gains electrons.
Octet rule: Atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons to achieve 8 electrons in their outer shell.
Polar covalent bond: A covalent bond where electrons are shared unequally because the atoms have different electronegativities.
Nonpolar covalent bond: A covalent bond where electrons are shared equally between atoms of similar electronegativity.
Electronegativity: The ability of an atom to attract shared electrons toward itself in a bond.
Molecule: The smallest unit of a covalent compound, consisting of two or more atoms bonded together.