Themes > Science > Chemistry > Inorganic Chemistry > Chemical Bonding > Covalent Bonds


This section is about covalent chemical bonds and covalent bond energies. We can define these terms as the forces that cause a group of atoms to act as a unit. To find the energy in a certain compound, we look at the models. A model is an attempt to explain how the compound looks and acts, but is not actually the real thing.    

Remember that a bond does not always equal a certain number. When working with bond energies, you are working with the average of all the bond energies for that bond. Also in bonding, we can have more than just a single electron being shared to become a bond. if we have two electrons shared, we have a double bond, and then with three electrons being shared, we have a triple bond. The energy required to break a bond dramatically increases when more electrons are shared.
   In chemistry, you will hear about enthalpy for the rest of your life. Enthalpy will be the over-all energy released or absorbed in a reaction. To find enthalpy, we use this equation:
Enthalpy (H) = energy of bonds broken - energy of bonds formed.

  (ex.) H2 + F2 ----> 2HF. Here we have one bond of H-H plus one bond of F-F. Both of these bonds are broken and the remaining atoms form two H-F molecules. We look up the bond energies for this reaction and use our equation:
       Enthalpy = [1*(432) + 1*(154)] - [ 2*(565)] = -544kJ
Multiplying the bond energy by the number of that type of bond formed is extremely important.


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