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Giant Covalent Bond
Diamond
Diamond has carbon atoms bonded with another carbon atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement which each
carbon atom uses all its valence electrons to form 4 single covalent bonds with other 4 carbon atoms.
Silicon Dioxide
Silicon dioxide, SiO2, has silicon atoms bonded with another oxygen atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement
which each silicon atom uses all its valence electrons to form 4 single covalent bonds with other 4 oxygen
atoms.
Graphite
Graphite has flat layers of carbon atoms bonded strongly in hexagonal arrangement in which the layers are
bonded to each other weakly.
Properties
It is a hard solid because it consists of many strong covalent bonds between atoms. This property makes it
suitable as abrasives.
It has very high melting and boiling points.
It does not conduct electricity (except graphite) because there are no free electrons in covalent bonds
since they are used to form bonds; hence electrons are in fixed positions. To conduct electricity, there
must be free electrons.
All covalent structures are insoluble in water.
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Quick Check:
Mention the difference between the properties and structure of Diamond and graphite.
Metallic Bond
Metallic bonding is bonding within atoms of metals caused by attractive force between positively charged
metal ions and negatively charged free electrons.
The atoms are packed closely together in giant lattice structures.
Draw the Metallic structure of sodium:
BOND FORMING
Each atom in metal gives up valence electrons to form positive ions.
There are free electrons moving between the spaces and positive metal ions are attracted to the sea of
electrons which hold the atoms together.
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Structure and Properties of Metallic Bond
Metals can be bent (ductile) and can be stretched (malleable) because the layers of atoms in metals slide
over each other when force is applied but will not break due to attractive force between electrons and
metal ions.
Metals conduct electricity as it has free electrons which carries current.
Metals conduct heat as it has free electrons which gains energy when heated and moves faster to collide
with metal atoms, releasing heat in collisions.
Metals have high melting and boiling points because the bonds between metals is very strong. Hence very
high heat energy needed to break the bonds.
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MCQ Questions
1. Which ion has the most shells that contain electrons?
a. Al3+
b. Be2+
c. N3-
d. S2-
2. Which substance contains covalent bonds but also conducts electricity?
a. brass
b. graphite
c. iodine
d. steel
3. Which electron arrangement is that of a metallic element?
a. 2, 1
b. 2, 4
c. 2, 5
d. 2, 7
4. Which molecules have the same number of protons?
a. O2 and N2
b. Cl2 and Br2
c. CO2 and SO2
d. CH4 and NH3
5. Metals have positive ions in a 'sea of electrons'. Which metal atom provides most electrons for the sea?
a. aluminium
b. magnesium
c. sodium
d. zinc
6. Which substance does not have a macromolecular structure?
a. diamond
b. graphite
c. silicon dioxide
d. sodium chloride
7. Which atom has the same electronic configuration as the strontium ion?
a. calcium
b. krypton
c. rubidium
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d. selenium
8. Element X has an electronic structure 2.8.8.1.
Element Y has an electronic structure 2.8.6.
What is made when X and Y react?
Type of compound Formula
a. covalent X2Y
b. covalent XY2
c. ionic X 2Y
d. ionic XY2
9. What is the formula of uranium(VI) oxide?
a. U6O
b. U2O3
c. UO3
d. UO6
10. Graphite is used to make
a. glass
b. cutting tools
c. electrical wiring
d. electrodes
11. Which compound has both ionic and covalent bonds?
a. ammonium chloride
b. carbon dioxide
c. ethy ethanoate
d. sodium chloride
12. Elements X and Y react to form an ionic compound of formula XY. What could be the proton (atomic)
numbers of X and Y?
X Y
a 3 8
b 6 8
c 8 16
d 12 16
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13. An atom of an element contains 17 protons, 18 neutrons and 17 electrons. What is the atomic
structure of another isotope of this element?
protons neutrons electrons
a 17 20 17
b 17 18 16
c 18 18 17
d 20 18 17
14. Which of the following has the highest electrical conductivity?
a. aqueous sugar solution
b. solid graphite
c. solid sodium chloride
d. gaseous carbon dioxide
15. Which of the following ions has the same number of electrons as a krypton atom, atomic number 36?
a. chlorine
b. rubidium
c. sodium
d. xenon
16. Which of the following is a compound?
a. air
b. carbon
c. oxygen
d. steam
17. In which set do the three particles each have the same total number of electrons?
a Cl- Br- I-
b F- Ne Na+
c K+ Ca2+ Br-
d Li+ Na+ K+
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18. An ion X+ has 23 nucleons and 10 electrons. What does the nucleus of the ion X+ contain?
protons neutrons
a 12 11
b 11 12
c 10 13
d 9 14
19. The table shows information about particles X and Y.
number of number of electronic
protons neutrons structure
X 9 10 2, 8
Y 17 20 2, 8, 8
Which statement is correct for both X and Y?
a. they are atoms of metals
b. they are atoms of noble gases
c. they are isotopes of the same element
d. they are negative ions
20. Which substance could be sodium chloride?
substance melting point/oC conduction of conduction of
electricity when electricity when in
liquid aqueous solution
a -114 none none
b -114 none good
c 180 none insoluble
d 808 good good
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21. Which of the following describes the structure of diamond?
a. a giant structure of atoms bonded covalently
b. a regular arrangement of oppositely charged ions
c. layers of rings of atoms
d. positively charged ions surrounded by a sea of electrons
MCQ Answers
1. d
2. b
3. a
4. d
5. a
6. d
7. b
8. c
9. c
10. d
11. a
12. d
13. a (isotopes of the same element have same number of protons but different number of neutrons)
14. b
15. b
16. d
17. b
18. b
19. d
20. d
21. a
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Structured Question Worked Solutions
1. Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are two isotopes of uranium. The table below shows the numbers of the
particles in one atom of uranium-235
particle Number
electron 92
neutron 143
proton 92
a. suggest a reason why this is known as uranium-235
b. In the table below, give the numbers of particles found in an atom of uranium-238
particle number
electron
neutron
proton
c. Uranium-235 is radioactive and is used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Give one other use of
uranium-235
Solutions
a. mass number = 143 + 92 = 235
b.
particle number
electron 92
neutron 146
proton 92
c. as a nuclear fuel in the production of nuclear energy
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2. Fluorine can form either covalent or ionic bonds.
a. Draw a dot-and-cross diagram to show the bonding in
i. sodium fluoride, NaF
ii. fluorine, F2
Your diagrams must show all electrons.
b. Explain why sodium fluoride has a higher melting point than fluorine
Solutions
ai.
aii.
b. In NaF, the ionic bonds are very strong. In F2, the forces of attraction between F2 molecules are very
weak. A lot of energy is required to break the strong ionic bonds. Hence, NaF has a higher melting point
than F2.
3. Use the information in the table below to answer the following questions
substance conducts melting dissolves in
electricity when point/oC water
solid
sodium no 808 yes
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chloride
sulphur no 113 no
tungsten yes 3377 no
wax no 35-50 no
aluminium yes 660 no
ai. Name two metals from the table
aii. How can you tell from the table that the substances you have chosen in (i) are metals?
b. How can you tell from the table that wax is a mixture?
ci. Name a compound from the table
cii. Explain the meaning of the word compound
d. Describe how the arrangement and movement of particles in aluminium change as the temperature
rises from 659oC to 661oC
e. Suggest how you could separate a mixture of sulphur and sodium chloride to produce a sample of each
Solution
ai. tungsten and aluminium
aii. They conduct electricity when solid
b. Wax melts over a range of temperatures
ci. sodium chloride
cii. a compound contains 2 or more elements chemically bonded together. The ratio of each element is
fixed.
d. At 659oC, the particles are vibrating vigorously about their fixed positions. At 660oC, Al starts to melt
and the particles break free from each other and begin to move about in aggregates.
e. Dissolve the mixture in water and filter. Sulphur remains as residue while NaCl is collected as filtrate.
NaCl can then be obtained by crystallization.
4. The table shows the atomic structure of six particles, represented by the letters L to Q. The particles are
atoms or ions. The letters are not the symbols of the elements.
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particle electrons protons neutrons
L 6 6 6
M 2 2 2
N 12 12 12
O 10 12 12
P 6 6 8
Q 10 13 14
Use the letters L to Q to answer the following questions.
a. Which 2 particles are ions?
b. Which particle is a atom of a noble gas?
c. Which 2 particles are an atom and an ion of the same element?
d. Which 2 particles are isotopes of the same element?
e. Which particle has the highest atomic mass?
Solutions
a. O and Q (because O is an ion with a 2+ charge while Q is an ion with a 3+ charge)
b. M
c. N and O (N and O have the same number of protons but different number of electrons
d. L and P have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
e. Q. (13 + 14 =27)
5. Sodium is stored under oil because it rapidly oxidises to form sodium oxide, Na2O.
Draw a dot-and-cross diagram to show the bonding in sodium oxide. (Only need to show outer shell
electrons)
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