GCSE chemistry- chamical formulas

a bit on chemical formulas including covelent bonds, ionic bonds and brackets. from bbc bitesize.

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  • Created by: naz
  • Created on: 05-04-12 13:08

Chemical formulas

A compound consists of two or more atoms from different elements chemically joined together. There are two types of chemical bond:

  • - covalent bonds
  • - ionic bonds.

Covalent bonds

covalent bond forms when two atoms share a pair of electrons. The atoms involved are non-metals such as carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. They join together to form molecules.

The animation shows a covalent bond being formed between a hydrogen atom and a chlorine atom to form a molecule of hydrogen chloride:

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Ionic bonds

Atoms can lose or gain electrons in chemical reactions. When they do this they form charged particles called ions.

- hydrogen atoms and metal atoms can lose electrons to form positively charged ions.

- non-metal atoms can gain electrons to form negatively charged ions.

Ionic bonds are the forces of attraction between oppositely charged ions in a compound.

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