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Ch.3 - Mass Relationships in Chemical Reactions
Chapter 3, Problem 27

Which of the following drawings is more likely to represent an ionic compound and which a covalent compound? (a)

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Ionic Compounds

Ionic compounds are formed through the transfer of electrons from one atom to another, resulting in the formation of charged ions. Typically, this occurs between metals, which lose electrons and become positively charged cations, and nonmetals, which gain electrons to become negatively charged anions. The electrostatic attraction between these oppositely charged ions leads to the formation of a crystalline lattice structure, which is characteristic of ionic compounds.
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Covalent Compounds

Covalent compounds are formed when two or more nonmetals share electrons to achieve a full outer electron shell, resulting in the formation of molecules. This sharing can be equal (nonpolar covalent) or unequal (polar covalent), depending on the electronegativity of the atoms involved. Covalent compounds typically have lower melting and boiling points compared to ionic compounds and can exist as gases, liquids, or solids at room temperature.
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Electronegativity

Electronegativity is a measure of an atom's ability to attract and hold onto electrons in a chemical bond. It plays a crucial role in determining whether a bond will be ionic or covalent. In general, a large difference in electronegativity between two atoms indicates that an ionic bond is likely to form, while a small difference suggests that a covalent bond will occur. Understanding electronegativity helps predict the nature of the bond based on the elements involved.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
Lactic acid forms in muscle tissue after strenuous exercise. Elemental analysis shows that lactic acid is 40.0% carbon, 6.71% hydrogen, and 53.3% oxygen by mass. If the molec-ular weight of lactic acid is 90.08, what is the molecular for-mula? (LO 3.11) (a) CH2O (b) C3H6O3 (c) C4H8O4 (d) C4H10O2
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Textbook Question

Combustion analysis is performed on 0.50 g of a hydrocar-bon and 1.55 g of CO2, and 0.697 g of H2O are produced. The mass spectrum for the hydrocarbon is provided below. What is the molecular formula? (LO 3.12 and 3.13)

(a) C5H11 (b) C8H18 (c) C11H10 (d) C10H22

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Textbook Question
Which of the following compounds is incorrectly named? (LO 2.23–2.25) (a) CaO; calcium oxide (b) FeBr2; iron dibromide (c) N2O5; dinitrogen pentoxide (d) CrO3; chromium(VI) oxide
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Textbook Question
Each of the pictures (a)–(d) represents one of the following substances at 25 °C: sodium, chlorine, iodine, sodium chloride. Which picture corresponds to which substance? (a)

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Textbook Question
The diagrams represent a reaction on the molecular level. Atoms of A are represented with red spheres, and atoms of B are represented with blue spheres. Write a balanced chemical equation.
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Textbook Question
Fluoxetine, marketed as an antidepressant under the name Prozac, can be represented by the following ball-and-stick molecular model. Write the molecular formula for fluoxetine, and calculate its molecular weight. (Red = O, gray = C, blue = N, yellow green = F, ivory = H.)
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