What determine bond strength?

[Anastasia Yulo 1C]

In determining bond strength, which characteristic take priority? Is it size of atom (and thus bond length) or electronegativity of an atom in a molecule?

CF4 has a very strong bond because of the small size of the fluorine atom and the short bond lengths.
The textbook also says, "note that electronegativity and polarity arguments would predict the C--F bond to be the weakest."

[HannahRobinson3L]

I think in the case of your example, it depends on what you are comparing. If we wanted to see if a CF or a CCl bond was stronger, we would look at size. C and F would be stronger because of the shorter bond lengths. However, in comparison to something like LiF, we would use the difference in electronegativity and see that C and F obviously form a much weaker bond than Li and F. More than which characteristic takes priority, I think it is more so which one is the most appropriate measure to determine the bond strength.

[Neel Bonthala 2G]

Yes, you're completely correct in that size contributes a lot to how strong a bond is. Larger radii means larger distance between nuclei, which creates a bond that is easier to break. Also, bond order is extremely important in determining bond strength. Triple bonds are a lot stronger than double bonds, and double bonds are stronger than single bonds. We can even visualize this, because triple bonds are shorter than double bonds, and double bonds are shorter than single bonds. Just as in the case of size, single bonds mean the nuclei are further apart, making it easier to break the bond.

[Massimo_Capozza_1G]

Yes, you're completely correct in that size contributes a lot to how strong a bond is. Larger radii means larger distance between nuclei, which creates a bond that is easier to break. Also, bond order is extremely important in determining bond strength. Triple bonds are a lot stronger than double bonds, and double bonds are stronger than single bonds. We can even visualize this, because triple bonds are shorter than double bonds, and double bonds are shorter than single bonds. Just as in the case of size, single bonds mean the nuclei are further apart, making it easier to break the bond.

I agree that size contributes a lot to bond strength. Do you remember what the periodic trend for atom size is? I think it increases going down but I'm not sure what the trend is going left to right on the table.

[Neel Bonthala 2G]

Yes, you're completely correct in that size contributes a lot to how strong a bond is. Larger radii means larger distance between nuclei, which creates a bond that is easier to break. Also, bond order is extremely important in determining bond strength. Triple bonds are a lot stronger than double bonds, and double bonds are stronger than single bonds. We can even visualize this, because triple bonds are shorter than double bonds, and double bonds are shorter than single bonds. Just as in the case of size, single bonds mean the nuclei are further apart, making it easier to break the bond.

I agree that size contributes a lot to bond strength. Do you remember what the periodic trend for atom size is? I think it increases going down but I'm not sure what the trend is going left to right on the table.

Hey! So the atom size actually decreases from left to right. This is because the positive charge of the nucleus is pulling outer electrons closer in. The effective nuclear charge increases as you go right, so this makes sense as no outer energy shells are being added.

[Anastasia Yulo 1C]

Yes, you're completely correct in that size contributes a lot to how strong a bond is. Larger radii means larger distance between nuclei, which creates a bond that is easier to break. Also, bond order is extremely important in determining bond strength. Triple bonds are a lot stronger than double bonds, and double bonds are stronger than single bonds. We can even visualize this, because triple bonds are shorter than double bonds, and double bonds are shorter than single bonds. Just as in the case of size, single bonds mean the nuclei are further apart, making it easier to break the bond.

I agree that size contributes a lot to bond strength. Do you remember what the periodic trend for atom size is? I think it increases going down but I'm not sure what the trend is going left to right on the table.

But what affects it more? Size, electronegativity, bond order, etc..?