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8: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

  • Page ID
    152488
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    We described the relationship between the chemical properties and reactivity of an element and its position in the periodic table. In this chapter and the following chapter, we describe the interactions that hold atoms together in chemical substances, and we examine the factors that determine how the atoms of a substance are arranged in space. Our goal is to understand how the properties of the component atoms in a chemical compound determine the structure and reactivity of the compound. The properties described previously were properties of isolated atoms, yet most of the substances in our world consist of atoms held together in molecules, ionic compounds, or metallic solids. The properties of these substances depend on not only the characteristics of the component atoms but also how those atoms are bonded to one another.

    What you learn in this chapter about chemical bonding and molecular structure will help you understand how different substances with the same atoms can have vastly different physical and chemical properties. For example, oxygen gas (O2) is essential for life, yet ozone (O3) is toxic to cells, although as you learned previously, ozone in the upper atmosphere shields us from harmful ultraviolet light. Moreover, you saw that diamond is a hard, transparent solid that is a gemstone; graphite is a soft, black solid that is a lubricant; and fullerenes are molecular species with carbon cage structures—yet all of these are composed of carbon. As you learn about bonding, you will also discover why, although carbon and silicon both have ns2np2 valence electron configurations and form dioxides, CO2 is normally a gas that condenses into the volatile molecular solid known as dry ice, whereas SiO2 is a nonvolatile solid with a network structure that can take several forms, including beach sand and quartz crystals.


      8: Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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