Chemical bonds

lone pairs of electrons

A pair of valence electrons that is not bonded or shared with another atom.

non bonding electrons

Lone pair electrons; not used for bonding.

octet rule

States that atoms lose, gain or share electrons in order to acquire a full set of eight valence electrons

core electrons

The electrons in the inner shells of an atom; these electrons are not involved in forming bonds.

bonding electrons

The electrons in the outermost shell (main energy level) of an atom, also called valence electrons. These are the electrons involved in forming bonds.

single bond

a bond formed when two atoms share a pair of electrons

covalent bond

a chemical bond that involves sharing a pair of electrons between atoms in a molecule

polar covalent bond

a covalent bond in which electrons are not shared equally, A covalent bond between atoms that differ in electronegativity. The shared electrons are pulled closer to the more electronegative atom, making it slightly negative and the other atom slightly positive.

triple bonds

a covalent bond in which three pairs of electrons are shared by two atoms

double bonds

bonds that involve two shared pairs of electrons

non-polar covalent bond

electrons are shared equally between two atoms of similar electronegativity

valence electrons

electrons on the outermost energy level of an atom

formula

of a binary ionic compound represents the number and type of ions in the compound. the formula is found by "crossing over" the charges of the ions

electron-dot symbols

one or more dots representing the valence electrons of an atom are written alongside the atomic symbol of an element.

non-bonding pairs

pairs of valence electrons not involved in bonding

VSEPR theory

states that repulsion between the sets of valence-level electrons surrounding an atom causes these sets to be oriented as far apart as possible

electronegativity

the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bond