Chemistry · Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
There are three types of strong chemical bond. In ionic bonding a metal atom transfers electrons to a non-metal atom. The metal becomes a positive ion and the non-metal becomes a negative ion. The ions form a giant lattice, held by strong electrostatic attraction between opposite charges in all directions.
In covalent bonding non-metal atoms share pairs of electrons. This gives small molecules such as water, very large molecules such as polymers, or giant covalent structures such as diamond.
In metallic bonding the metal atoms lose their outer electrons to a sea of delocalised electrons. The positive ions are held together by their attraction to these shared electrons.
Students write that ionic compounds are made of molecules, or that the atoms in them share electrons. In ionic bonding electrons are transferred, and the result is a giant lattice of ions, not molecules.
Answer: CaF2
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