Question

List the similarities and differences between ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds?

Answer 1

Here's the simplest way to view these:

`ul("Ionic"" "" "" "" ""Covalent"" "" "" "" ""Metallic")`
`"Metal+"" "" "" ""Nonmetal+"" "" "" ""Metal+"`
`"Nonmetal"" "color(white)(/.)"Nonmetal"" "" "" "color(white)(..)"Metal"`

Ionic bonds are in general bonds where each atom significantly differs in electronegativity, the affinity for electrons:

Common examples are `"NaCl"`, `"LiF"`, `"MgBr"_2`, etc., made from elements on opposite sides of the periodic table.

Covalent bonds are chemical bonds formed by sharing electrons between nonmetals:

Common examples are `"NH"_3`, `"PCl"_5`, `"CH"_4`, etc., made from elements on the right-hand side of the periodic table.

Metallic bonds are formed by spreading electrons between metal cations in a metallic network:

It could be between the same metal, or different metals, i.e. alloys made from elements on the left-hand side of the periodic table and/or the `d`-block.

A common example is brass, which might have `"Cu"^+` with `"Zn"^(2+)` in a metallic network.