1. Know how ionic bonding occurs and understand how Coulomb’s Law can be applied to compare relative strengths of ionic bonds. Understand the meaning of the terms bond energy and bond length.
2. Know how covalent bonding occurs and understand how polar covalent bonds differ from covalent bonds between identical atoms. Be able to compare and contrast covalent bonds between identical atoms, polar covalent bonds, and ionic bonds.
3. Understand the meaning of the term electronegativity, and be familiar with the trend for electronegativity in the periodic table. Be familiar with the relationship between electronegativity and bond type shown in Table 8.1.
4. Be able to use electronegativity values to determine the polarity of covalent bonds and show the associated dipole moment in a drawing.
5. Be familiar with the general guidelines for ionic and covalent bonding based on stable electron configurations (p. 358).
6. Be able to predict the charge on a metal or non-metal ion from the main group elements by using the periodic table. Be able to use charges to predict formulas for ionic compounds.
7. Be able to compare ionic radius with atomic radius for a given element. Ex. Which has a larger radius – a sodium atom or a sodium ion? A fluorine atom or a fluoride ion?
8. Be familiar with the trend for ionic radius in an isoelectronic series.
9. Understand the types of energy changes involved in generating an ionic compound from atoms.
10. Understand that there is a continuous range of bonding types – varying based on differences in electronegativity values for the atoms involved. Be familiar with the operational definition for ionic compounds based on electrical conductivity in the molten state.
11. Know what is meant by lone pairs, bonding pairs, the octet rule, single bonds, double bonds, and triple bonds.
12. Be able to apply the octet rule to write Lewis formulas for ionic and covalent substances (including polyatomic ions). Note: you will need to be familiar with the steps for writing Lewis structures to do this. (Your instructor will show a variation of these steps in class.)
13. Be aware of the limitations and exceptions to the octet rule involving beryllium, covalent compounds of group IIIA (group 13), compounds containing an odd number of electrons, and compounds involving an expanded valence shell (more than eight electrons). Note expanded valence shells require that the atom has valence electrons in at least the 3rd level. (The “Comments about the Octet Rule” summary presents some important helpful information that you should be aware of.)
14. Understand what is meant by resonance structures. Be aware that resonance structures represent delocalized electrons and understand how bond-lengths are affected by resonance.
15. Be able to assign formal charges to atoms in a compound. Understand how formal charge is important for determination of reasonable Lewis formulas.
16. Be familiar with the ideas presented in the VSEPR model.
17. Understand how to count regions of high electron density around a central atom and how to determine electronic geometry based on this number. Be familiar with the following electronic arrangements: linear, trigonal planar, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal, and octahedral.
18. Be able to compare bonding and non-bonding regions to arrive at a 3-dimensional arrangement which minimizes repulsions, and be familiar with the resulting molecular shapes based on the electronic arrangements discussed above. Be able to determine the shapes of covalent molecules.