Question #b090c
1 Answer
Mar 4, 2015
Beryllium and sulfur will form the compound beryllium sulfide which has a chemical formula of BeS.
The electronegativity difference of S (2.58) and Be (1.57) is only 1.01. This means that the bond which forms between these elements exists in a gray area between ionic and covalent.
thinking of the bond being ionic, beryllium has two valence electrons to donate and sulfur can accept two electrons. This means the Be will have a +2 charge after losing its electrons and the sulfide ion will have a -2 charge, which gives the 1:1 ratio in the compound.
Here is a review of valence electrons:
And a review of ionic bond formation:
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