Chemical Forums

Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: MIA6 on December 22, 2008, 11:49:47 PM

Title: bonds
Post by: MIA6 on December 22, 2008, 11:49:47 PM

I don't get why H2O has covalent bonds. I mean I know one way to find out if it's ionic or covalent is to find H and O's electronegativity, but if I just think about it, i think it''s ionic because H tends to lose electron, so both H give two electrons to O, and fill all the shells of O. so y it's covalent?
Thanks

Title: Re: bonds
Post by: Mitch on December 23, 2008, 12:06:35 AM

Because if you studied the electron density in the O-H bond you would find that the electrons are found between the atoms implying it is shared and thus covalent.

Title: Re: bonds
Post by: Vidya on December 23, 2008, 02:02:08 AM

It depends on the difference in electronegativity.
If the difference is -ZERO-Pure covalent
If the difference is -INTERMEDIATE-Polar covalent
If the difference is -LARGE-ionic
In H2O it is intermediate so it is polar covalent.
Metals bonded with nonmetals ,it is ionic because difference is very large
H2,Cl2 difference is ZERO so it is purely covalent.

Title: Re: bonds
Post by: Astrokel on December 23, 2008, 12:39:38 PM

As you might have learnt in your high school class, bonding between 2 non-metals are covalent even though the bonds are polar.