ionic character

[Emely Reyna 1F]

One of the UA's workshop worksheets included a question that asked to determine which compound has greater ionic character, I was a bit confused on what to do for this question, does it mean which bond is ionic bond is stronger?

[Danielle Sumilang - 1F]

Hello!

You're pretty much right. If a compound has a greater ionic character, then the ionic bond between the two elements is stronger than the elements in the other compound. A larger ionic character is caused by a great difference in electronegativity. One element in the compound is more electronegative than the other element.

[Vivian Gonzalez 1A]

I am also confused as to what the term covalent character means or is referring to. Can someone please explain?

[Emely Reyna 1F]

Thank you! This was really helpful!!! How would I be able to determine which element of the compound is more electronegative?

[Emely Reyna 1F]

I am also confused as to what the term covalent character means or is referring to. Can someone please explain?

I think covalent character means the same thing as ionic character. One compound would have a greater covalent character if the difference in electronegativity is greater

[Danielle Sumilang - 1F]

Thank you! This was really helpful!!! How would I be able to determine which element of the compound is more electronegative?

Hello!

You can determine if the element is more electronegative by using the periodic table trends we learned before the midterm. Electronegativity increases as you move from left to right in a row and from bottom to the top in a period.

[Alicia Beebe]

So every ionic bond has some covalent character. The bigger difference in electronegativity will always result in more ionic character, because the one with greater electronegativity will pull on the electrons so much that they will hardly be shared at all. As far as finding electronegativity, it increases as you go up and to the right on the periodic table, with F, O, N, Cl being the most electronegative, and specifically F having the highest electronegativity. There are quantitative values, but electronegativity is used more for comparison than anything else from what I understand

[Ashley Martinez 1G]

The textbook mentions that an electronegative difference of ~2 means ionic character and electronegative differences smaller than ~1.5 are regarded as covalent. It then goes on to say there's a few exceptions to these guidelines. How do we determine these exceptions? Is it something we memorize? Thanks!

[Chem_Mod]

Covalent refers to "sharing" of electrons. In an ionic bond, the electron is primarily associated with one atom while the other lacks the electron.

[BriannaParrington-1B]

If the trend of electronegativity is highest to the upper right of the periodic table, does that mean that electronegativity is the least in the bottom left corner of the periodic table? Is there a specific trend we are supposed to know besides the highest electronegativity being in the upper right of the periodic table such as fluorine, chlorine, etc.?

[Erin Li 1K]

greater ionic character means greater difference in electronegativity