Types of Chemical Bonds

Question 6 • EO Night School Chemistry 7320A

Which statement best explains why a metal atom and a nonmetal atom are most likely to form an ionic bond?

Answer

Metal atoms have low ionization energy, and nonmetal atoms have high electronegativity, so electrons transfer easily from the nonmetal atom to the metal atom.

Metal atoms have low ionization energy, and nonmetal atoms have high electronegativity, so electrons transfer easily from the metal atom to the nonmetal atom.

Metal atoms have high ionization energy, and nonmetal atoms have low electronegativity, so electrons transfer easily from the nonmetal atom to the metal atom.

Metal atoms have high ionization energy, and nonmetal atoms have low electronegativity, so electrons transfer easily from the metal atom to the nonmetal atom.

Explanation

Metal atoms have low ionization energy, so they can lose electrons relatively easily. Nonmetal atoms have high electronegativity, so they attract and gain those electrons; the resulting oppositely charged ions form an ionic bond. Thus, electrons transfer from the metal atom to the nonmetal atom.

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Ionic Bonding

Metallic Bonding

Covalent Bonding