Chemical bonding
AQA GCSE Chemistry revision on Chemical bonding. Aligned to the AQA GCSE Chemistry 8462 specification. This bank has 8 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 8)
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Question 1
In ionic bonding, electrons are...
- A) Shared between atoms
- B) Transferred from metal to non-metal
- C) Removed completely
- D) Created
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Answer: Transferred from metal to non-metal
Example: Na + Cl. Sodium has 1 outer electron; chlorine has 7. Sodium TRANSFERS its electron to chlorine -> Na+ (full outer shell of 8) + Cl- (full outer shell of 8). The opposite charges attract -> ionic bond. Forms a giant ionic LATTICE - billions of ions in regular 3D arrangement. High melting point, brittle, conducts electricity when molten or dissolved.
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Question 2
Covalent bonding involves...
- A) Electron transfer from metal to non-metal
- B) Sharing electron pairs between non-metal atoms
- C) Magnetic forces
- D) Mixing of atoms
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Answer: Sharing electron pairs between non-metal atoms
Two non-metals each contribute one electron to share - both atoms 'see' a full outer shell. Example: H2 (each H shares 1, both get the helium-like 2 outer). H2O, CO2, methane all covalent. Strong bond WITHIN the molecule, but weak intermolecular forces between molecules. So small covalent molecules have LOW melting points (water, methane). Giant covalent (diamond, silicon dioxide) = giant network - very high melting.
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Question 3
The ionic compound sodium chloride (NaCl) has a HIGH melting point because...
- A) Sodium is very strong
- B) Strong electrostatic forces between many oppositely-charged ions in a lattice
- C) It contains chlorine gas
- D) Sodium is in Group 1
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Answer: Strong electrostatic forces between many oppositely-charged ions in a lattice
NaCl melts at 801C. Each ion is surrounded by 6 oppositely-charged neighbours; every attraction is strong, and there are billions of them in the lattice. To melt, you must break enough of them for ions to flow - high energy = high melting point. All ionic compounds: high melting/boiling, soluble in water, conduct when molten or dissolved (ions free to move), don't conduct as solid (ions locked in lattice).
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5 more questions on Chemical bonding — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole Chemistry spec.