Unit 6: Compounds

Ascending to the summit of a mountain peak, a rock climber can survey the surrounding world. This world is composed of many different kinds of compounds, ranging from simple ones such as sodium chloride found in the perspiration on the climber’s skin to more complex ones such as the calcite or pyrite found in certain rocks.

Worldwide, scientists are studying ways to increase food supplies, reduce pollution, and prevent disease. Understanding the chemistry of compounds that make up fertilizers, pollutants, and materials that carry genetic information is essential in developing new technologies in these areas. An understanding of the chemistry of compounds requires an understanding of their bonding.

Why is this important to us? The world around you is composed mainly of compounds. The properties of each compound are based on how the compound is bonded. The salts dissolved in Earth’s ocean and the compounds that make up most of Earth’s crust are held together by ionic bonds. Most compounds, including those in living organisms, are covalently bonded.

In this unit, you will:

1. Define a chemical bond.

2. Describe how ions form.

3. Identify ionic bonding and the characteristics of ionic compounds.

4. Name and write formulas for ionic compounds.

5. Relate metallic bonds to the characteristics of metals.

6. Analyze the nature of a covalent bond.

7. Name covalently bonded groups of atoms.

8. Determine the shape of molecules.

9. Describe characteristics of covalent molecules.

10. Compare/contrast polar covalent and covalent molecules.

ª Notes