Electrostatic attraction is really important in ionic bonding. This happens between ions that have opposite charges. Here are some key things to know:
How They Form: Ionic bonds happen when electrons move from metals to nonmetals. Metals usually have few electrons to give away, while nonmetals are ready to take them. Because of this transfer, positive ions, called cations, and negative ions, called anions, are created.
How Strong is the Attraction?: The strength of this attraction can be understood using something called Coulomb's law. It's a way to figure out how strongly the ions pull on each other. The formula looks like this: Here, is the strength of the force, is a constant number, and are the charges of the ions, and is the distance between them.
Properties of Ionic Compounds: Ionic compounds usually have very high melting and boiling points. Many of them can melt or boil at temperatures higher than 800°C. This is because the electrostatic forces between the ions are really strong.
Electrostatic attraction is really important in ionic bonding. This happens between ions that have opposite charges. Here are some key things to know:
How They Form: Ionic bonds happen when electrons move from metals to nonmetals. Metals usually have few electrons to give away, while nonmetals are ready to take them. Because of this transfer, positive ions, called cations, and negative ions, called anions, are created.
How Strong is the Attraction?: The strength of this attraction can be understood using something called Coulomb's law. It's a way to figure out how strongly the ions pull on each other. The formula looks like this: Here, is the strength of the force, is a constant number, and are the charges of the ions, and is the distance between them.
Properties of Ionic Compounds: Ionic compounds usually have very high melting and boiling points. Many of them can melt or boil at temperatures higher than 800°C. This is because the electrostatic forces between the ions are really strong.