ionic, covalent and metallic bonding

• ionic bonding: when atoms lose or gain electrons to form ions, the oppositely charged ions are attracted by electrostatic forces and bond
• dot cross diagrams can show ionic bonding and ionic compounds, but don’t show the structure of the compound, size of ions or how they are arranged
• covalent bonds are very strong due to electrostatic forces holding them together
• dot cross diagrams can be used to show covalent bonds, electrons are drawn in atoms outer shell which overlap
• pure metals are often too soft so they are mixed with other metals to make them harder, to be used more - alloys