Chapter 8 Chemical Bonds: What Makes a Gas a Greenhouse Gas?

Heat is associated with the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum

CO2 is good at trapping heat because it absorbs infrared radiation
Ionic Bond: results from the electrostatic attraction of a cation for an anion
Bond Length: the distance between the nuclear centers of two atoms joined together in a bond
o The bond length occurs when the electrostatic potential energy (Eel) is at a min (most
negative)
o The value of the Eel at this distance is the energy needed to break up a molecule into free
atoms/ the energy released when forming the molecule it is called the bond energy or bond
strength.
o This is why bonded atoms are more stable than elements they have a more negative E el
Metallic Bond: consists of the nuclei of metal atoms surrounded by a sea of shared e-s.
Many bonds do not fall exclusively into just one category, but rather have characteristics of each
bond
LEWIS STRUCTURES:
Octet Rule: atoms of main group elements make bonds by
gaining, losing, or sharing e-s to achieve a valence shell
containing 8 e-s.
Major exception: Hydrogen It forms a duet. (Other exceptions are Be and B)
Lewis (Dot) Symbol: the chemical symbol for an atom surrounded by dots representing the
valence e-s
Lewis Structure: a 2D representation of the bonds/lone pairs of val. e-s in a molecule or
polyatomic ion
Bonding Pair: a pair of e-s shared between two atoms
Single/Double/Triple Bond: results when two atoms share 1, 2, or 3 pairs of e-s
Lone Pair: a pair of e-s that is not shared
Compounds having fewer than 8 valance e-s about an atom are referred to as the election-deficient
compounds in Lewis theory. In another type of e- deficiency, atoms in some molecules have
incomplete octets because there are odd numbers of valance e-s in those molecules
INITIAL GUIDELINES:
1. Determine the number of valance e-s
2. Arrange the symbols of the elements in a pattern that shows how their atoms are bonded together
and then connect them with single bonds. The atom with greatest bonding capacity should be in
the center. The central atom in a Lewis structure is often the atom with the lowest
electronegativity.
3. Complete octets or duets of the atoms bonded to central atom by adding lone pair e-s
4. Compare the number of valance e-s in the structure to the number determined in step 1
5. Complete the octet on the central atom
Lewis structures of Ionic compounds
Polar covalent bond: unequal sharing of bonding pairs of e-s between atoms
Bond Polarity: a measure of the extent to which bonding e-s are unequally shared due to differences in
electronegativity of the bonded atoms.
Unequal sharing shown using an arrow with a + embedded in its tail to indicate the direction of
polarity, the arrow points towards the negative, e- rich atom, the + indicates the more positive, epoor atom
Nonpolar Covalent Bond: a bond characterized by an even distribution of
charge; e-s in the bonds are shared equally by the 2 atoms; pure covalent
bonds give rise to nonpolar diatomic molecules.
Electronegativity: a relative measure of the ability of bonded atoms to
attract e-s
Ionic character: an estimate of the magnitude of charge separation in a
covalent bondthe degree of ionic character of a bond depends on the
difference in the abilities of the two atoms to attract the electrons they

share: the greater the difference in electronegativity, the more ionic the bond between them.

I am skipping over the vibrating bonds and the greenhouse effect on page 386
Allotropes different molecular forms of the same element, such as oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3) that have
different chemical and physical properties
Resonancecharacteristic of e- distributions when 2+ equivalent Lewis structures can be drawn for 1
compound
Resonance StructureLewis structures w/ same arrangement of atoms, different arrangements of
bonding e-s
Formal Charge (FC): Choosing Among Lewis Structures
the preferred structures has FCs of zero, or the most FCs of zero or closest to zero
FC of same sign are unlikely on neighboring atoms
any negative FCs should be on the atom(s) of the most electronegativity elements
FC = # val e # unshared e #bonds
Exceptions to the Octet Rule total odd number of val e (NO and NO2)
Free Radical: an odd-electron molecule with an unpaired electron in its Lewis structure
Come as close to possible to producing zero FC and complete octets
Typically very reactive species
Minimizing formal charge is more important than satisfying the octet rule when dealing with
elements in or below the 3rd row of the periodic table (i.e. expand the octet if necessary)
Second row elements can never have more than an octet
But an atom being pair with a strongly EN element (i.e. F, O, or Cl) can sometimes expand its octet
Having less than an octet is OK in some situations, especially with group 13 (B, Al, etc.) elements
Atoms with Less than an Octet
If favorable for formal charge Br and Al
The Lengths and Strengths of Covalent Bonds
Bond Order the number of bonds between atoms (1 = single bond; 2 = double bond, 3 = triple bond)
Bond Energy/Strength the needed to break 1 mole of a covalent bond in a molecule/polyatomic ion
in the gas phase, usually expressed as H
The higher the bond order, the greater the bond energy/strength
Bonding Capacity the number of covalent bonds an atom forms to have an octet of e -s in its valence
shell
Integrating concepts the search for Gallium(II) Chloride page 408