Ionic and Covalent

[Claudeth Martinez 1D]

Hey,

Does anyone know how I can tell ionic and covalent bonds apart? Thanks

[Natalie Liu 4I]

An ionic bond is between a metal and a nonmetal, and a covalent bond is between 2 nonmetals.

[ellienelson4F]

As a general rule of thumb, an ionic bond is between a metal and a nonmetal, while a covalent bond is between nonmetals. Remember that in an ionic bond one of the atoms will completely transfer an electron to the other in order to become stable (eg. in NaCl the one valence electron in sodium's outer shell is lost to chlorine to fill chlorine's outer most orbital). In a covalent bond, electrons are shared between the atoms (think of Lewis structures and how the lines connecting the atoms represents a shared pair of electrons).

[Tessa Lawler 1A]

2 main ways:
1- covalent is between 2 nonmetals. Ionic is generally between nonmetal and metal.
2- covalent bond is the sharing of electrons between two atoms/molecules i.e. they both share one pair of electrons to complete their valence shell. Ionic bond is the giving of electrons from one atom/molecule to another. So, one atom/molecule could give two electrons to an atom/molecule that needs two electrons to complete their valence shell. That way, they'd both have a full valence shell.