Covalent bonds and distortion

[Ellison Gonzales 1H]

Hello! I was wondering why the more covalent a bond is, the more distortion there is. I understand covalent bonds and distortion are linked, but why is that? Thank you!

[Dominic Benna 2E]

It is more distorted because the electrons are being shared more. When the bond is more covalent, that means that the electrons are being shared more. Then there will be a distortion between the two atoms.

[Sophia Stewart 3F]

It helped me to look at Dr. Lavelle's illustration in the lecture of the NaCl ions. Since the Na+ ion has a positive charge and the Cl- has a negative charge, the electrons in Cl- are pulled towards Na+, distorting the shape. then you can imagine that the larger this positive charge in comparison to the negative one, the more attraction, and therefore distortion, there would be.

[Dylan_Nguyen_2C]

Looking at Dr. Lavelle's model helped me to understand this better. If two atoms share a covalent bond, then the electrons that are being shared are pulled by the cation because of their negative charge. This distorts the path of electrons that are being shared between the atoms as they are shifted more towards the cation. The more positively charged the cation, the more attraction it exerts on the shared electrons.

[905579227]

can someone for their explain how you these problems because I am unable to comprehend the whole concept covalent bonds.

[Ellison Gonzales 1H]

Thank you Dylan, Sophia, and Dominic! This makes a lot more sense to me