CHEMICAL BONDINGS
COVALENT BONDS
OBJECTIVES
AT THE END OF THE LESSON, I WILL BE ABLE TO:
• ILLUSTRATE THE INFORMATION OF COVALENT BONDS IN TERMS OF ELECTRON
SHARING
• APPLY THE OCTET RULE IN FORMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS
• DEFINE ELECTRONEGATIVITY
• DESCRIBE THE ELECTRONEGATIVITY TRENDS IN THE PERIODIC TABLE
• DRAW LEWIS STRUCTURE OF COVALENT COMPOUND
• IDENTIFY LONE PAIRS AND BOND PAIRS
• DRAW THE RESONANCE STRUCTURES OF COVALENT COMPOUNDS
• DETERMINE THE POLARITY OF A BOND BASED ON THE ELECTRONEGATIVITIES OF
THE BONDING ATOMS
• DETERMINE WHETHER A BOND IS IONIC, POLAR COVALENT, OR COVALENT
BASED ON THE DIFFERENCES IN ELECTRONEGATIVITIES OF THE BONDING ATOMS
KEY WORDS
• LEWIS STRUCTURE • NONPOLAR COVALENT BOND
• POLAR COVALENT BOND
• COVALENT BOND
• ELECTRONEGATIVITY
• LONE PAIR • PERCENT IONIC CHARACTER
• BOND PAIR • RESONANCE
• SINGLE BOND • INCOMPLETE OCTET
• EXPANDED OCTET
• DOUBLE BOND
• TRIPLE BOND
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. HOW ARE COVALENT BONDS FORMED?
2. WHY ARE THE ELECTRONS OFTEN UNEQUALLY SHARED BY THE ATOMS IN A COVALENT
BOND?
3. HOW DO WE REPRESENT COVALENT COMPOUNDS?
4. HOW DO WE NAME COVALENT COMPOUNDS?
H2 O
(CH3)2C
O
C10H8
NH3
C₂H₆O
FORMATION OF COVALENT BONDS
IT WAS GILBERT LEWIS WHO SUGGESTED THAT THE CHEMICAL BOND IS FORMED BY
SHARING OF ELECTRONS IN ATOMS
FOR HYDROGEN GAS MOLECULE, H2
H+HH H
THE TWO ELECTRONS ARE SHARED EQUALLY BETWEEN THE TWO ATOMS FORMING A
COVALENT BOND
REVIEW
• IN THE LEWIS STRUCTURE, SHARED ELECTRONS THAT FORM A BOND IS
REPRESENTED BY A LINE OR A PAIR OF DOTS
• LONE PAIRS ARE REPRESENTED BY DOTS ABOVE THE ATOM
• ONLY VALENCE ELECTRONS ARE INCLUDED IN LEWIS STRUCTURES
EXAMPLES
1. FROM THE LEWIS STRUCTURE OF F2, HOW MANY ELECTRONS ARE AROUND
EACH FLUORINE IN F2?
2. HOW MANY BOND PAIRS ARE THERE IN THE F2 MOLECULE?
3. HOW MANY LONE PAIRS ARE THERE IN THE F2 MOLECULE?
4. FURTHER ILLUSTRATE THE FORMATION OF THE COVALENT BOND IN CL2. HOW
MANY BOND PAIRS ARE THERE? HOW MANY LONE PAIRS?
5. ILLUSTRATE THE FORMATION OF THE COVALENT BOND IN HCL
PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. DRAW THE LEWIS STRUCTURE FOR H2O, CH4 (METHANE), AND FOR NH3
2. WHICH OF THE THREE MOLECULES HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF BOND
PAIRS (COVALENT BONDING)
3. DRAW THE LEWIS STRUCTURE FOR CARBON DIOXIDE CO2
CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER
• SINGLE BONDS ARE FORMED WHEN TWO ATOMS ARE HELD TOGETHER BY ONE
PAIR OF ELECTRONS
• MULTIPLE BONDS CAN BE FORMED
• A DOUBLE BOND IS FROM THE SHARING OF TWO PAIRS OF ELECTRONS
• A TRIPLE BOND EXIST WHEN TWO ATOMS ARE HELD BY THREE PAIRS OF
ELECTRONS
ELECTRONEGATIVITY
• THE TENDENCY OF AN ATOM IN A CHEMICAL BOND TO ATTRACT ELECTRONS
TOWARDS ITSELF
• INCREASING FROM BOTTOM TO TOP AND LEFT TO RIGHT
• FLOURINE IS THE MOST ELECTRONEGATIVE ELEMENT
• A PROPERTY THAT DISTINGUISHES THE POLARITY OF BONDS
NON POLAR COVALENT BOND
H H
A TYPE OF BOND THAT OCCURS WHEN TWO ATOMS SHARE A PAIR OF ELECTRONS
WITH EACH OTHER
POLAR COVALENT BOND
ᵟ+ ᵟ-
H F
a type of chemical bond where a pair of electrons is
unequally shared between two atoms
• THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ELECTRONEGATIVITY VALUES (ΔEN) OF TWO BONDED
ATOMS DETERMINES THE PERCENT IONIC CHARACTER OF THE BOND
• IF THE BOND IS BETWEEN TWO IDENTICAL ELEMENTS, THE BOND IS PURELY
COVALENT WITH 0 PERCENT IONIC CHARACTER
• IF THE EN DIFFERENCE IS 0 – 0.5, THE BOND IS NONPOLAR COVALENT
• IF THE EN DIFFERENCE IS 0.5-1.7, THE BOND IS POLAR COVALENT
• AN ELECTRONEGATIVITY DIFFERENCE OF 2.0 OR MORE IS USUALLY CLASSIFIED
AS PREDOMINANTLY IONIC
PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. CLASSIFY THE FOLLOWING BONDS AS IONIC, POLAR COVALENT, OR COVALENT.
EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS.
• THE C-C BOND IN H3CCH3
• THE K-I BOND IN KI
• THE C-F BOND IN CF4
• THE N-H BOND IN NH3
2. ARRANGE THE FOLLOWING BONDS ACCORDING TO INCREASING BOND POLARITY: CS TO
F, CL TO CL, BR TO CL, SI TO C.
WRITING LEWIS STRUCTURES
THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES ARE USED IN WRITING THE LEWIS STRUCTURE OF
COVALENT MOLECULES:
A. DRAW A SKELETAL STRUCTURE OF THE MOLECULE PUTTING BONDED ATOMS
NEXT TO EACH OTHER. IN GENERAL, THE LEAST ELECTRONEGATIVE ATOM
OCCUPIES THE CENTRAL POSITION. H AND F USUALLY OCCUPY TERMINAL (END)
POSITIONS.
B. COUNT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VALENCE ELECTRONS FROM ALL THE ATOMS IN THE
STRUCTURE. ADD ELECTRONS CORRESPONDING TO THE CHARGE FOR NEGATIVE IONS;
SUBTRACT ELECTRONS CORRESPONDING TO THE CHARGE FOR POSITIVE IONS.
C. DISTRIBUTE THE VALENCE ELECTRONS TO THE NON-CENTRAL ATOMS SUCH THAT THESE
ATOMS FULFILL THE OCTET RULE. REMAINING ELECTRONS ARE ASSIGNED TO THE CENTRAL
ATOM. REMEMBER THAT BONDS ARE EQUIVALENT TO 2 ELECTRONS.
D. IF THE VALENCE ELECTRONS ARE NOT ENOUGH, MULTIPLE BONDS MAY BE FORMED.
PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. WRITE THE LEWIS STRUCTURE FOR NCL3
2. WRITE THE LEWIS STRUCTURE OF OCS. C IS THE CENTRAL ATOM
3. WRITE THE LEWIS STRUCTURE OF CN
RESONANCE STRUCTURE
• A RESONANCE STRUCTURE IS ONE OF THE TWO OR MORE LEWIS STRUCTURES
FOR A MOLECULE THAT CANNOT BE REPRESENTED ACCURATELY BY ONLY ONE
LEWIS STRUCTURE
• A DOUBLE ARROW SHOWS THAT THE STRUCTURES ARE RESONANCE
STRUCTURES
EXAMPLE :
• DRAW THE RESONANCE STRUCTURES FOR CARBONATE ION, CO32-
EXCEMPTIONS OF THE OCTET RULE
THE OCTET RULE WORKS BEST FOR SECOND-PERIOD ELEMENTS. HENCE THERE
ARE MANY EXCEPTIONS. THEY FALL INTO THREE CATEGORIES:
• INCOMPLETE OCTET
• ODD NUMBER OF ELECTRONS
• EXPANDED OCTET
INCOMPLETE OCTET
AN EXAMPLE OF A MOLECULE WITH INCOMPLETE OCTET IS BEH2, BERYLLIUM HYDRIDE.
H-BE-H
THERE ARE ONLY 4 ELECTRONS AROUND BE AND NOT 8
ODD NUMBER OF ELECTRONS
• AN EXAMPLE IS NITRIC OXIDE, NO
• THE ODD NUMBERED MOLECULES ARE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS RADICALS. THEY ARE GENERALLY
HIGHLY REACTIVE
N=O
EXPANDED OCTETS
• ATOMS BELONGING TO THE SECOND PERIOD CANNOT HAVE MORE THAN EIGHT
VALENCE ELECTRONS AROUND THE CENTRAL ATOM BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAVE
2S AND 2P ORBITALS
• THIS IS DIFFERENT FOR ATOMS OF ELEMENTS IN THE 3RD PERIOD AND BEYOND
• THESE ELEMENTS HAVE 3D ORBITALS THAT CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE BONDING.
HENCE THEY CAN HAVE MORE THAN EIGHT VALENCE ELECTRONS AROUND THE
CENTRAL ATOM
• AN EXAMPLE IS SF6 AND HAS 12 ELECTRONS AROUND THE CENTRAL ATOM
NAMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS: A REVIEW
• HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES FOR NAMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS AND FOR
WRITING THEIR FORMULAS. FOR BINARY COMPOUNDS, STATE THE NAME OF THE
FIRST ELEMENT. THE NAME OF THE SECOND ELEMENT ENDS IN -IDE.
• PREFIXES ARE USED TO DENOTE THE NUMBER OF ATOMS IN THE FORMULA.
No Prefix No Prefix
1 Mono- 6 Hexa-
2 di- 7 hepta
3 Tri- 8 Octa-
4 Tetra- 9 Nona-
5 Penta- 10 Deca-
