Atoms and Bonding

How are compounds formed?

When atoms combine they form compounds
What are valence electrons?
They are the outermost electrons in an atom, have higher amounts of
energy, and determine the elements chemical properties. The outermost
electrons are represented by an electron dot diagram. See figure 1, page
359.
How many electrons are in a neutral atom?
Electrons are the same number as the number of protons = atomic number
How are an atom's valence electrons different from the rest of the
atom's electrons?
The valence electrons have the highest energy
Why are valence electrons important?
They are involved in forming chemical bonds.
What is a chemical bond?
A chemical bond is the force of attraction that holds 2 atoms together as a
result of the arrangement of electrons b/w them.
How many valence electron Hydrogen has? Carbon? Oxygen?
Hydrogen has 1 valence electron. (H). It is in group 1 but it is considered a
nonmetal. Hydrogen shares its electron when forming compounds with other
nonmetals to have a stable arrangement of 2 electrons.
Carbon has 4 valence electrons. (C)
Oxygen has 6 valence electrons. (O)
What is the important distinction between metals and non metals?
It is how their valence electrons form bonds.

Metals lose electrons when they bond with other atoms. The
reactivity of a metal depends on how easily its atoms lose
valence electrons.

Nonmetals become stable when they gain or share enough

electrons to have 8 valence electrons. Nonmetals usually
combine with metals by gaining electrons. Nonmetals combine
with other nonmetals by sharing electrons.

What kind of properties do metalloids have?

Metalloids have some properties of metals and some properties of
nonmetals.
What happens to the valence electrons of metalloids when
metalloids combine with other elements?
They either lose or share their valence electrons.
How is this similar to metals?
Metals lose electrons when they combine with other elements.
How is this different from metals?
Metals do not share electrons.