Chemical Bonding

Valence electrons are the outer shell electrons of an

atom. The valence electrons are the electrons that
particpate in chemical bonding.
Group e- configuration # of valence e-
1A ns1 1
2A ns2 2
3A ns2np1 3
4A ns2np2 4
5A ns2np3 5
6A ns2np4 6
7A ns2np5 7

9.1
Lewis Dot Symbols
The Lewis dot symbol is used to keep track of the
number of valence electrons that an atom has

One dot to signify

H that H has one

valence electron

symbol of the element

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

hydrogen helium lithium beryllium

boron carbon nitrogen oxygen

fluorine neon
Show the Lewis dot symbol for the following

Ar
Except for helium, the number of valence
electrons that each atom has is the same as
the group number of the element

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Octet rule
 Recall: Atoms can gain or lose electrons to
achieve the same number of electrons as the
noble gas closest to them
Na [Ne]3s1 Na+ [Ne]
Ca [Ar]4s2 Ca2+ [Ar]
Al [Ne]3s23p1 Al3+ [Ne]
N 1s22s22p3 N3- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]
O 1s22s22p4 O2- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]
F 1s22s22p5 F- 1s22s22p6 or [Ne]
Brown, T., E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
 Octet rule: atoms tend to gain, lose, or share
electrons until they are surrounded by eight
valence electrons (or two for hydrogen)

He 1s2

Ne 1s2 2s22p6

Ar 1s2 2s22p6 3s23p6

Brown, ,T. E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
Chemical bonding
Whenever atoms or ions are strongly attached to one
another, we say that there is a chemical bond between
them

ionic bond covalent bond metallic bond

Brown, ,T. E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
Chemical bond:
Ionic bond
 An ionic compound is formed when a metal
transfers its electron/s to a nonmetal
+1
+2

+3

-3
-2
-1
Brown, T., E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
ionic compounds consist of a combination of cations
and an anions
the sum of the charges on the cation(s) and anion(s) in each
formula unit must equal zero
The ionic compound NaCl

2.6
 An ionic compound is formed when a metal
transfers its electron/s to a nonmetal
-
Na + Cl Na+ Cl or NaCl

[Ne]3s1 [Ne]3s23p5 [Ne] [Ar]

Na Na+ + e-
-
e- + Cl Cl
- -
Na+ + Cl Na+ Cl
Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
In some cases, the cation and the anion in an ionic
compound do not carry the same charges

2 Al + 3 O 2 Al3+ 3 O 2-

[Ne]3s23p1 [He]2s22p4 [Ne] [Ne]

2 Al 2 Al3+ + 6e-

6e- + 3 O 3 O 2-

2 Al + 3 O 2 Al3+ 3 O 2-
or Al2O3
Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Use Lewis dot symbols to show the formation
of MgO

Mg + O Mg2+ O 2-
or MgO

When writing the formula of an ionic

compound, reduce the subscripts to
the lowest possible whole numbers
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Figure 9.8 Electrostatic forces and the reason ionic compounds
crack.

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Figure 9.9 Electrical conductance and ion mobility.

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chemical bond:
Covalent bond
Covalent bond results from the sharing of electrons between two atoms
A covalent compound or molecule is formed when nonmetals
share their electron/s with each other

Brown, T., E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
A covalent compound or molecule is formed when
nonmetals share their electron/s with each other

O + O O O or O2

8e- 8e-

H + H H H or H2
2e- 2e-
A covalent compound or molecule is formed when
nonmetals share their electron/s with each other

H + O + H H O H or H2O

2e- 8e- 2e-

H
2e-
+ H
H + C + H H C H or CH4
+ H
2e- 8e-
H
 Ions in water allow electricity to pass through
to light the bulb, electricity
must flow between the two
wires
ions carry electrical charge
from one wire to another,
thereby completing the circuit
copper
wire
Ionic and covalent compounds differ greatly in their general physical
properties because of differences in the nature of their bonds. 9.4
Chemical bond:
Polar covalent bond
The unequal distribution of electrons gives the bond
partially positive and partially negative poles

or

Fluorine
:

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Polar covalent bond or polar bond is a covalent
bond with greater electron density around one of the
two atoms

electron rich
electron poor
region
region e- poor e- rich

H F H F
d+ d-

9.5
Electronegativity (EN)
One of the most important concepts in chemical bonding is EN,
the relative ability of a bonded atom to attract the shared
electrons

*the higher the EN of an

atom, the greater the ability
to pull electrons towards
itself

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to attract
toward itself the electrons in a chemical bond.

Figure 9.19 The Pauling electronegativity (EN) scale.

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Left to right: increasing EN Increasing electronegativity

Zeff dominates
number of protons increases
electrons are added to the same n, so shielding
by inner electrons does not change while
shielding by electrons belonging to the same n
is poor
stronger attraction between the protons and the
covalently-bonded electron
Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Top to bottom: decreasing EN

n dominates
Decreasing electronegativity

going down the group, each member has

one more level of inner electrons that shield
the outer electrons very effectively
the nucleus is farther away from the
covalently-bonded electron
weaker attraction between the protons and
the covalently-bonded electron

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
The greater the difference in EN between two atoms, the
more polar their bond

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lewis structure
A Lewis structure is a representation of covalent bonding in which
shared electron pairs are shown as lines between the two atoms,
and unshared or lone pairs are shown as dots on individual atoms

lone pairs F F lone pairs

covalent bond

lone pairs F F lone pairs

covalent bond
Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
In a molecule, some atoms may share more than two
electrons

single bonds

H O H or HOH
Double bond two atoms share two pairs of electrons
double bonds

O C O or O=C=O

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

In a molecule, some atoms may share more than two
electrons

N N or NN

triple bond

Triple bond two atoms share three pairs of electrons

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Bond length- distance between nuclei of two covalently bonded
atoms in a molecule
Bond energy- measure of the stability of a molecule; energy
required to break a particular bond in 1 mole of gaseous molecules

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Lengths of Covalent Bonds
Bond
Bond Length
Type
(pm)
C-C 154
CC 133
CC 120
C-N 143
CN 138
Bond Lengths CN 116
Triple bond < Double Bond < Single Bond

9.4
Steps in drawing
a Lewis structure
 Step 1: Determine the total number of valence
electrons available

NF3
N: 1 x 5 = 5
+
F: 3 x 7 = 21
26 e-

*add one e- for every negative charge of the ion, or

subtract one e- for each positive charge
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Step 2: Place atom with lowest EN in the center

F
NF3
N
F F
*For a molecule ABn, place the atom with lower group
number in the center
*If the atoms have the same group number, place the
atom with the higher period number in the center
*H can only form one bond, so it is never a central atom
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Step 3: Draw a single bond from each surrounding atom to the
central atom, and subtract two valence electrons for each
bond

NF3
N: 1 x 5 = 5
+ F
F: 3 x 7 = 21
N
26
- F F
6
20 e-
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Step 4: Distribute the remaining electrons so
that each surrounding atom has an octet

NF3
20
- F
18
N
2 e-
F F

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Step 5: If any electrons remain, place them
around the central atom

N
F F

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Step 6: Check if each atom has 8 e- and if total
# of e- used = total # of valence e-

NF3
N: 1 x 5 = 5
+ F
F: 3 x 7 = 21
N
26 e-
F F

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
One of the compounds responsible for the depletion of
the stratospheric ozone is CCl2F2. Draw its Lewis
structure.
Step 7: If a central atom still does not have an octet, make a
multiple bond by changing a lone pair from one of the
surrounding atoms into a bonding pair to the central atom

CS2
C: 1 x 4 = 4
+ SCS
S: 2 x 6 = 12
16 e-

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Step 7: If a central atom still does not have an octet, make a
multiple bond by changing a lone pair from one of the
surrounding atoms into a bonding pair to the central atom

CS2
C: 1 x 4 = 4
+ S=C=S
S: 2 x 6 = 12
16 e-

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Step 8: After getting the Lewis structure of a
charged molecule, [Lewis structure]charge

NO+
N: 1 x 5 = 5
+ [ +
[ N O
O: 1 x 6 = 6
-
charge = 1
10 e-
Remember that in nearly all their compounds

H atom forms 1 bond, and it can never be a central

atom
C atom forms 4 bonds
N atom forms 3 bonds
O atom forms 2 bonds
F is always a surrounding atom

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Drawing Lewis Structures
1. Add the valence electrons.
2. Identify the central atom (usually the one with the
highest molecular mass, lowest electronegativity, or
closest to the center of the periodic table).
3. Place the central atom in the center of the molecule
and add all other atoms around it.
4.Place one bond (two electrons) between each pair of
atoms.
5.Complete the octet for the central atom.
6.Complete the octets for all other atoms. Use
double/triple bonds if necessary.
7. Place remaining electrons on the central atom.
Write the Lewis structure of the carbonate ion (CO32-).
Step 1 C is less electronegative than O, put C in center
Step 2 Count valence electrons C - 4 (2s22p2) and O - 6 (2s22p4)
-2 charge 2e-
4 + (3 x 6) + 2 = 24 valence electrons
Step 3 Draw single bonds between C and O atoms and complete
octet on C and O atoms.
Step 4 - Check, are # of e- in structure equal to number of valence e- ?
3 single bonds (3x2) + 10 lone pairs (10x2) = 26 valence electrons
Step 5 - Too many electrons, form double bond and re-check # of e-

2 single bonds (2x2) = 4

2- 1 double bond = 4
O C O 8 lone pairs (8x2) = 16
Total = 24
O
9.6
If engine combustion is inefficient, CO is
formed. Draw its Lewis structure

CO
Formal Charges
 Formal charge is the charge that an atom would
have if the bonding electrons were shared equally

Formal charge =
# of valence e-s (# of unshared valence e- + # of shared
valence e-)

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
The sum of the formal charges of the atoms equals the
overall charge of the molecule or ion
(0)
H
[
[
+ +
NH4 (0)
(+1) (0)
(overall charge = +1) H N H
(0)
H
N H
valence e- 5 1
-
e- assigned to the atom 4 1
formal charge +1 0
Brown, T., E. LeMay, and B. Bursten. 2000. Chemistry: The Central Science. 8th ed. Phils: Pearson Education Asia Pte. Ltd.
Cyanide poisoning occurs when a person inhales or ingests
enough cyanide (CN-). Assign formal charges to each atom
present in cyanide.

CN- (overall charge = -1)

(-1) (0)
-
[ :C N:
[
valence e- 4 5
-
e- assigned to the atom 5 5
formal charge -1 0
In general, formal charges that are closer to zero are
preferable to larger ones

NCO-

(-2) (0) (+1) (0) (0) (-1)

[ - [ -
[NCO [NCO
X
(-1) (0) (0)
[ -
[ N=C=O

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
and a negative (positive) formal charge should reside
on a more (less) electronegative atom

NCO-

(-2) (0) (+1) (0) (0) (-1)

[ - [ -
[NCO [NCO
X best Lewis structure
(-1) (0) (0)
[ -
[ N=C=O
X

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Exceptions to the
octet rule
 Some molecules do not follow the octet rule
Molecules in which an atom has less than an octet
Molecules with an odd number of electrons
Molecules in which an atom has more than an
octet (expanded octet)
Exception to the octet rule:
Molecules in which an atom has less
than an octet
If the central atom is aluminum, boron, or beryllium, it
may have less than eight electrons

AlI3 BF3
I F
BeH2
Al B H Be H
I I F F

*Al is still a BaBe!

*Why not use double bonds to complete the octet for
the central atom?
Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
In general, formal charges that are closer to zero are preferable
to larger ones, and a negative (positive) formal charge should
reside on a more (less) electronegative atom

(0) (+1)

F F
(0) (-1)
(0) B (0) (0) B (0)
F F F F

better Lewis structure

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Exception to the octet rule:
Molecules with an odd number of
electrons
A few molecules contain a central atom with an odd number of
valence electrons, so they cannot possibly have all their
electrons in pairs

NO

N=O

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
In general, formal charges that are closer to zero are preferable
to larger ones, and a negative (positive) formal charge should
reside on a more (less) electronegative atom

NO
(0) (0) (-1) (+1)

N=O N=O
better Lewis structure

Silberberg, M. 2010. Principles of General Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Exception to the octet rule:
Molecules in which an atom has
more than an octet
(expanded octet)
If the central atom belongs to period 3 and
beyond, it may have more than eight valence
electrons

Chang, R. 2002. Chemistry 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.