Textbook Problem: 2D#3

[Sameer Chowdhury 3C]

This problem asked which of among a group of compounds had primary ionic character. Among the options were BeBr2 and BaBr2. The answer was BaBr2, which I presume was because there was a bigger electronegative difference between Ba and Br than Be and Br. Beyond simply knowing the electronegativities of the atoms, was there any way I could've figured this out?

[Daniela_Martinez_3B]

I'm not sure if there is another way to determine ionic character besides difference in electronegativity, but if there is I would also like to know

[Thomas Vu 1A]

Ya I think the only other way was if the problem provided a table of electronegativity values and you calculated the electronegatiivty difference to be >2

[Mirren Solomon Discussion 2G]

I agree, unless you are given explicit values that state otherwise, the only way to solve this problem is to look at the electronegativity difference based on the periodic trend.