C04: Chemical Bonding

MCQ

1 Which two statements about an ionic bond are correct?

I It is formed between a metal and a non-metal.

II It is formed between two metals.
III It is formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.
IV It is formed by the transfer of electrons between atoms.

A I and III only

B I and IV only
C II and III only
D II and IV only

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2 Which two elements will combine to form an ionic compound?

A lithium and neon

B carbon and hydrogen
C hydrogen and chlorine
D sodium and fluorine

3 The diagram below shows a molecule of phosphoric acid.

How many bonding pairs of electrons are there?

A 5
B 6
C 8
D 16

4 Which of the following explains why metals conduct electricity?

A Metals have free-moving ions.
B Metals have valence electrons that are delocalised.
C Metals have one electron that is not used for bonding.
D Metals have strong electrostatic forces of attraction.

5 The melting point of potassium oxide is much lower than the melting point of
aluminium oxide. Which statement explains this?
A Potassium is more reactive than aluminium.
B A potassium ion has a smaller charge than an aluminium ion.
C A potassium ion has more protons than an aluminium ion.
D A potassium ion has more shells of electrons than an
aluminium ion.

6 The diagram below shows the bonding in the covalent molecule hydrazine,
N2H4.

How many electrons are involved in bonding, and how many are not involved
in bonding?

Total Number of Total Number of

Electrons Involved Electrons not

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C04: Chemical Bonding

in Bonding Involved in Bonding

A 5 4

B 5 8

C 10 4

D 10 8

7 The electronic configurations of atoms X, Y and Z are given below.

X: 2, 2 Y: 2, 6 Z: 2, 7

What are the chemical formulae of the compounds formed?

X and Y X and Z

A XY X2Z

B XY XZ2

C XY2 X2Z

D XY2 XZ2

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C04: Chemical Bonding

8 The dot-and-cross diagram below shows the bonding in the compound XY3.
(Only the outermost electrons are shown.)

Which elements correspond to the compound shown?

X Y

A nitrogen hydrogen

B carbon chlorine

C carbon oxygen

D phosphorus chlorine

9 A metal P and a non-metal R react to form an ionic compound, P2R3.

Which of the following is correct?

Electron(s) Lost by Electron(s) Gained

Each Atom of P by Each Atom of R

A 1 3

B 2 3

C 3 2

D 3 1

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C04: Chemical Bonding

10 Atoms of X, Y and Z react to form the compound below.

Which of the following elements could be X, Y and Z?

X Y Z

A C O F

B N Si O

C C N Cl

D N C H

11 Which statement describes the formation of a sulfide ion from a sulfur atom?

A The atom gains one electron.

B The atom gains two electrons.
C The atom loses one electron.
D The atom loses two electrons.

12 The proton number of element P is 6. The proton number of element R is 16.

Which of the following shows a possible compound formed by elements P
and R?

A PR3
B PR2
C P2R
D P3R

13 An element X reacts with oxygen to form a solid of formula X2O. Which of the
following could be the electronic configuration of X?

A 2, 1
B 2, 4
C 2, 6
D 2, 8, 7

14 Which compound contains both ionic and covalent bonds?

A ammonia
B ammonium chloride
C carbon tetrachloride
D magnesium chloride

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C04: Chemical Bonding

Structured Questions

1 Chlorine exists as a diatomic molecule in which two chlorine atoms are bonded
together.

(a) Name the type of bonding found in a chlorine molecule. (1)

(b) Draw the dot-and-cross diagram for a chlorine molecule. (Only the outermost
electrons need to be shown.) (2)

(c) Chlorine can react with sodium to form sodium chloride. Draw the dot-and-
cross diagram for sodium chloride. Show all the electrons in sodium chloride.
(2)

2 (a) Complete the following table with the formulae of the ions formed. (3)

Element Formula of Ion Element Formula of Ion

sodium Nitrogen

magnesium Oxygen

aluminium Fluorine

(b) What do all the ions in (a) have in common? (2)

(c) (i) Using the table in (a), draw a dot-and-cross diagram for the compound
formed between aluminium and fluorine. (Only the outermost electrons need
to be shown.) (2)
(ii) State the type of bonding found in the compound in (b)(i). (1)

3 Oxygen is a reactive non-metal.

(a) Describe, in terms of the number of electrons gained, lost or shared, what
happens when:
(i) an oxygen atom combines with magnesium atom(s); and (2)
(ii) an oxygen atom combines with fluorine atom(s). (2)

(b) Draw the dot-and-cross diagram of an oxygen molecule. (Only the outermost
electrons need to be shown.) (2)

4 Carbon has a proton number of 6.

(a) (i) State the electronic configuration of carbon. (1)

(ii) Hence, explain the type of bonding that carbon is likely to form. (2)

(b) Draw the dot-and-cross diagram of a methane (CH4) molecule. (Only the
outermost electrons need to be shown.) (2)

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5 (a) Draw a dot-and-cross diagram for each of the following molecules:

(i) hydrogen (1)
(ii) water (2)
(Only the outermost electrons need to be shown.)

(b) Explain why the electronic configurations of helium and neon is important
when drawing the dot-and-cross diagrams in (a). (2)

6 Hydrogen can act both like a metal and a non-metal in reactions. It can form both
covalent and ionic compounds.

(a) Explain why hydrogen can react to form both covalent and ionic compounds.
(4)

(b) One of the compounds hydrogen forms is ammonia, NH3. Draw a dot-and-
cross diagram for ammonia. (Only the outermost electrons need to be
shown.) (2)

(c) Hydrogen forms another compound, sodium hydride (NaH). Draw a dot-and-
cross diagram for sodium hydride showing all the electrons. (2)

7 Germanium tetrachloride, GeCl4, is a colourless liquid.

(a) Predict the type of bonding in germanium tetrachloride. Explain your answer.
(2)

(b) Hence, draw the dot-and-cross diagram for germanium tetrachloride. (Only the
outermost electrons need to be shown.) (2)

(c) Based on your answer in (b), suggest the formula of a compound that has a
similar type of bonding as germanium tetrachloride. (1)

8 Potassium is a metal.

(a) Name and describe the type of bonding present in potassium. (2)

(b) Suggest another metal which shows a stronger metallic bond than potassium.
Explain your answer. (3)

(c) Potassium can react with chlorine to form potassium chloride. Draw the dot-
and-cross diagram for potassium chloride. (Only the outermost electrons
need to be shown.) (2)

(d) Describe the structure of potassium chloride in the solid state. (2)

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C04: Chemical Bonding

9 Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons to itself when it

undergoes bonding. When bonding occurs between two atoms, the
electronegativity of each atom is an important consideration.

The table below shows the electronegativity values of some elements.

Element Electronegativity Value

fluorine 3.98

chlorine 3.16

bromine 2.96

lithium 0.98

sodium

potassiu
0.82
m

(a) Predict the electronegativity value for sodium. (1)

(b) Study the statements below.

Statement A: “When two atoms have similar electronegativity values, they

would form an ionic bond.”

Statement B: “When two atoms have very different electronegativity values,

they form a covalent bond.”

Do you agree with these statements? Explain your answer using the
information in the table. (4)

(c) Predict the electronegativity value of helium and argon. Explain your answer.
(3)

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C04: Chemical Bonding

10 The following table shows some information about the elements in Period 3 of the
periodic table.

Formula of Compound Melting Point of

Element
Formed with Chlorine Compound / ºC

sodium NaCl 801

magnesium MgCl2 714

aluminium AlCl3 192

silicon SiCl4 –69

phosphorus PCl3 –94

sulfur SCl2 –122

chlorine Cl2 –102

argon – –

(a) Draw the dot-and-cross diagram for magnesium chloride. (Only the outermost
electrons need to be shown.) (2)

(b) Draw the dot-and-cross diagram for phosphorus chloride. (Only the outermost
electrons need to be shown.) (2)

(c) Magnesium chloride has a relatively high melting point while phosphorous
chloride has a low melting point. Suggest why this is so. (3)

(d) Aluminium chloride has a melting point that does not follow the trend across
the three metals (sodium, magnesium and aluminium) in Period 3. Explain the
trend and hence infer the possible type of bonding found in aluminium
chloride. (2)

11 Use the substances listed below to answer the questions that follow.

helium nitrogen sodium lithium sulfate

oxygen carbon dioxide calcium oxide argon

Name a substance that:

(a) has a giant ionic lattice structure; (1)
(b) exists as individual atoms; (1)
(c) is covalently bonded to itself; (1)
(d) is a metallic element; and (1)
(e) contains a polyatomic ion. (1)

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C04: Chemical Bonding

12 (a) Draw a dot-and-cross diagram to show the bonding in:

(i) carbon dioxide; and (2)
(ii) lithium oxide. (2)
(Only the outermost electrons need to be shown.)

(b) (i) Using your answers in (a), determine which compound exists as a simple
molecule. (1)
(ii) Name a covalent molecule of an element. (1)

13 Carbon disulfide, CS2, is a covalent compound used in making rubber and fibres.

(a) Draw a dot-and-cross diagram for carbon disulfide. (Only the outermost
electrons need to be shown.) (2)

(b) Using your understanding of chemical bonding, determine if the following

statements are true or false. (4)

True/
Statement
False

(i) Carbon disulfide has a crystal lattice structure.

(ii) Carbon disulfide has 4 bonding electron pairs.

There are 2 carbon atoms and 1 sulfide atom in

(iii)
each molecule of carbon disulfide.

The bonding in carbon disulfide is stronger than

(iv)
the bonding in sodium chloride.

(c) Carbon disulfide exists as a liquid at room temperature. It has a boiling point
of 46 ºC. Describe a method to separate a mixture of carbon disulfide and
water. (3)

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