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How Atoms Reach Stability
Incomplete octet
Valence shell has fewer than 8 electrons
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Share or transfer
Atoms share electrons (covalent) or transfer them (ionic)
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Chemical bond
A bond forms and the system energy drops
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Stable molecule or ionic compound
- Law of Conservation of Mass
- Mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
- Law of Definite Proportions
- A compound always contains the same elements in a fixed ratio by mass.
- Molecule
- A neutral group of two or more atoms that can exist independently.
- Chemical bond
- The force that holds atoms together after they combine to become stable.
- Covalent bond
- Formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.
- Ionic bond
- Formed by the transfer of electrons, giving cations and anions that attract.
- Chemical formula (covalent)
- Shows the elements and the number of atoms of each in a molecule.
- Chemical formula (ionic)
- Shows the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of the elements.
- Molecular mass
- The total mass of a molecule = sum of the atomic masses of its atoms.
- Formula unit mass
- The sum of the atomic masses of all atoms in one formula unit of an ionic compound.
Revise, Reflect, Refine
Work through the questions below to revise, reflect on, and refine what you learned.
