Ionic bonding

• ION:

  An atom or molecule which has gained or lost one or more electrons
• Ionic compounds have giant structures

  The ions are arranged in a lattice
• Positive ions: Cations

  • Metals ions lose electrons so if its a metal its going to become a positive ion.
  • The charge depends on what group the element is in (1, 2 or 3)
  • Transition metals can have different charges
• Negative ions: Anions

  • Non-metal atoms gain electrons to become negative ions
  • The charge gained = 8- the group number
• What does the strength of an ionic bond depend on?

  • the charge - if it has a positive and negative charge then the electrostatic attraction will be bigger.
  • If the ions are smaller ,that means the average distance between the charges is smaller and so the force will be stronger.
  • Force gets weaker as u move further away , so if the ions are closer then the force is stronger.
• Which bond will be weakest?

  • If there's single charges (one plus and one minus and no numbers) , and the ions are big so the average distance between the charges are bigger, so the electrostatic attraction will be weaker
• If the ions are smaller ,then the opposite charges are closer ,so the attraction will be stronger
• If the ions have more charge, then the attraction will be stronger