7: Electrons and Chemical Bonding
- Page ID
- 522101
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)As we mentioned earlier in this text, electrons are the part of the atom that is responsible for most of the chemical and physical properties of elements and compounds. In this chapter we will begin to look in more detail at why this is the case. Before discussing electrons, we will brielfy look at electromagnetic radiation in section 7.1. we will look very briefly at the way that light interacts with electrons, as this is how we know what the electrons are doing. In 7.2 through 7.4 we will look at the way that light interacts with electrons, how this interaction explains the way taht electrons are arranged in atoms, and see how that arrangement gives rise to the arrangement of the periodic table. In 7.5-7.7 we will look at how the electrons are then responsible for bonding in molecules. This introduction to the role that electrons play in chemical bonding will be important to master, as the next two chapters will build on these ideas and eventually we will learn how the physical states of matter are ultimately a result of the behavior of electrons.
- 7.1: Electromagnetic Radiation
- Light acts like a wave, with a frequency and a wavelength. The frequency and wavelength of light are related by the speed of light, a constant. Light acts like a particle of energy, whose value is related to the frequency of light.
- 7.2: Matter and Light and Quantum Mechanics
- Scientists observed the ways in which light interacted with matter and proposed models to try to explain this behavior. Much of this behavior was very unexpected and sometimes appeared to defy logic.
- 7.3: Electron Configurations
- We look at the four quantum numbers for a given electron. Electron configuration notation simplifies the indication of where electrons are located in a specific atom. The Aufbau principle gives the order of electron filling in an atom. Hund's rule specifies the order of electron filling within a set of orbitals. Orbital filling diagrams are a way of indicating electron locations in orbitals.
- 7.4: Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table
- The arrangement of electrons in atoms is responsible for the shape of the periodic table. Electron configurations can be predicted by the position of an atom on the periodic table.
- 7.5: The Octet Rule
- According to the octet rule, atoms will tend to lose, gain, or share electrons such that their valence electron shell resembles that of a noble gas. In most cases, the noble gas has 8 electrons in his valence shell, hence the word octet to describe the number 8.
- 7.6: Lewis Structures of Molecules
- A procedure is introduced for determining Lewis structures for more complex molecules and ions.
- 7.7: Resonance - Equivalent Lewis Structures for the Same Molecule
- Resonance structures are averages of different Lewis structure possibilities. Bond lengths are intermediate between covalent bonds and covalent double bonds.
- 7.E: Electrons and Chemical Bonds (Exercises)
- The following questions are related to the material covered in this chapter. For additional discussion on each topic, also check the links included in each heading. However, the numbering of these questions does not necessarily match the numbering of the sections within this textbook.


