BRAINCAKECovalent bonds and Small Molecules
A covalent bond is a localised bond formed as a strong electrostatic attraction between a shared pair of electrons and the nuclei of the bonded atoms.
Covalent bonds only form between atoms of non-metallic elements.
Non-metals can exist as molecules formed from covalently bonded atoms or in the case of carbon and silicon giant covalent lattices.
Non-metal elements can combine to form covalent compounds.
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Key terms in this lesson
- Atomic orbital
- A region in space around the nucleus where there is a 95% probability of finding an electron of a given energy.
- Electron configuration
- The arrangement of electrons in an atom's shells and sub-shells, written using numbers and letters such as 1s2 2s2.
- Enthalpy
- A measure of the heat energy stored in a chemical system.
- Average bond enthalpy
- The energy required to break one mole of a specified type of bond in a gaseous molecule, averaged over many different molecules.
- Period
- A horizontal row of the periodic table, containing elements with the same number of electron shells.
More in Bonding
- Sodium Chloride
- Magnesium Oxide
- Ionic Lattices
- Properties of Ionic Compounds
- Single and Double Covalent Bonds
- Co-ordinate Bonding
- Metallic Bonding
- Properties of Metals
All 30 lessons in Bonding · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics