GCSE AQA Chemistry: Bonding & Structure
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Targeted GCSE AQA exam-style questions and mark scheme answers about chemical bonding and structure for chemistry students.
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Cards · 20
- What are the three main types of chemical bonding?
- Ionic bonding, covalent bonding, and metallic bonding.
- Describe ionic bonding in terms of electrons.
- Transfer of electrons from metal atoms to non-metal atoms, forming oppositely charged ions.
- What holds particles together in an ionic compound?
- Strong electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged ions in all directions.
- Why do ionic compounds have high melting points?
- Large amounts of energy are required to overcome the strong electrostatic forces between ions.
- Why do ionic compounds conduct electricity when molten or in solution?
- The ions are free to move and carry electrical charge.
- Describe covalent bonding.
- Sharing of pairs of electrons between non-metal atoms.
- Why do simple molecular substances have low boiling points?
- They have weak intermolecular forces that require little energy to overcome, not breaking covalent bonds.
- Why do simple covalent molecules not conduct electricity?
- The molecules have no overall electric charge and no free electrons or ions to carry charge.
- Describe the structure of diamond.
- Each carbon atom forms four strong covalent bonds with other carbon atoms in a giant tetrahedral lattice.
- Why is diamond very hard and has a very high melting point?
- Contains many strong covalent bonds that require massive amounts of energy to break.
- Describe the structure of graphite.
- Each carbon forms three covalent bonds in hexagonal layers, leaving one delocalised electron per atom.
- Why can graphite conduct electricity?
- It has delocalised electrons that are free to move throughout the structure and carry charge.
- Why is graphite soft and slippery?
- Hexagonal layers are held together by weak intermolecular forces, allowing them to slide over each other.
- What is graphene?
- A single layer of graphite that is one atom thick.
- What are fullerenes?
- Molecules of carbon atoms with hollow shapes, based on hexagonal rings like Buckminsterfullerene (C60).
- Describe the structure and bonding in metals.
- A giant lattice of positive metal ions surrounded by a sea of delocalised electrons.
- Why are pure metals malleable?
- The atoms are arranged in regular layers that can easily slide over each other when a force is applied.
- Why are alloys harder than pure metals?
- Different sized atoms distort the regular layers, making it harder for them to slide over each other.
- What are polymers?
- Very large molecules made of repeating units linked together by strong covalent bonds.
- What is the typical diameter range of nanoparticles?
- Between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm).