BRAINCAKECovalent Bonding
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 where there is a high probability (90-95%) of finding an electron.
- Electron configuration
- The notation showing the arrangement of an atom's electrons in shells and sub-shells, such as 1s2 2s2 2p6.
- Period
- A horizontal row of the periodic table, containing elements with the same number of electron shells.
- Enthalpy
- A measure of the total energy of 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.
More in Electrons and Bonding
- Electron Structure
- Filling of Orbitals and Electron Pairing
- Ionic Bonding
- Structure and Properties of Ionic Compounds
- Single, Double and Triple Bonds
- Dative Covalent Bonds
All 7 lessons in Electrons and Bonding · All OCR AS-level Chemistry topics