Term | Definition |
axial position | location in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry in which there is another atom at a 180° angle and the equatorial positions are at a 90° angle |
bond angle | angle between any two covalent bonds that share a common atom |
bond dipole moment | separation of charge in a bond that depends on the difference in electronegativity and the bond distance represented by partial charges or a vector |
bond distance | (also, bond length) distance between the nuclei of two bonded atoms |
bond energy | (also, bond dissociation energy) energy required to break a covalent bond in a gaseous substance |
bond length | distance between the nuclei of two bonded atoms at which the lowest potential energy is achieved |
Born-Haber cycle | thermochemical cycle relating the various energetic steps involved in the formation of an ionic solid from the relevant elements |
covalent bond | bond formed when electrons are shared between atoms |
dipole moment | property of a molecule that describes the separation of charge determined by the sum of the individual bond moments based on the molecular structure |
double bond | covalent bond in which two pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms |
electron-pair geometry | arrangement around a central atom of all regions of electron density (bonds, lone pairs, or unpaired electrons) |
electronegativity | tendency of an atom to attract electrons in a bond to itself |
equatorial position | one of the three positions in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry with 120° angles between them; the axial positions are located at a 90° angle |
formal charge | charge that would result on an atom by taking the number of valence electrons on the neutral atom and subtracting the nonbonding electrons and the number of bonds (one-half of the bonding electrons) |
free radical | molecule that contains an odd number of electrons |
hypervalent molecule | molecule containing at least one main group element that has more than eight electrons in its valence shell |
inert pair effect | tendency of heavy atoms to form ions in which their valence s electrons are not lost |
ionic bond | strong electrostatic force of attraction between cations and anions in an ionic compound |
lattice energy (ΔHlattice) | energy required to separate one mole of an ionic solid into its component gaseous ions |
Lewis structure | diagram showing lone pairs and bonding pairs of electrons in a molecule or an ion |
Lewis symbol | symbol for an element or monatomic ion that uses a dot to represent each valence electron in the element or ion linear shape in which two outside groups are placed on opposite sides of a central atom |
lone pair | two (a pair of) valence electrons that are not used to form a covalent bond |
molecular structure | arrangement of atoms in a molecule or ion |
molecular structure | structure that includes only the placement of the atoms in the molecule |
octahedral | shape in which six outside groups are placed around a central atom such that a three-dimensional shape is generated with four groups forming a square and the other two forming the apex of two pyramids, one above and one below the square plane |
octet rule | guideline that states main group atoms will form structures in which eight valence electrons interact with each nucleus, counting bonding electrons as interacting with both atoms connected by the bond |
polar covalent bond | covalent bond between atoms of different electronegativities; a covalent bond with a positive end and a negative end |
polar molecule | (also, dipole) molecule with an overall dipole moment |
pure covalent bond | (also, nonpolar covalent bond) covalent bond between atoms of identical electronegativities |
resonance | situation in which one Lewis structure is insufficient to describe the bonding in a molecule and the average of multiple structures is observed |
resonance forms | two or more Lewis structures that have the same arrangement of atoms but different arrangements of electrons |
resonance hybrid | average of the resonance forms shown by the individual Lewis structures |
single bond | bond in which a single pair of electrons is shared between two atoms |
tetrahedral | shape in which four outside groups are placed around a central atom such that a three-dimensional shape is generated with four corners and 109.5° angles between each pair and the central atom |
Deffinition is too long and cannot be shortened. Please see book. | |
trigonal planar | shape in which three outside groups are placed in a flat triangle around a central atom with 120° angles between each pair and the central atom |
triple bond | bond in which three pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms |
valence shell electron-pair repulsion theory (VSEPR) | theory used to predict the bond angles in a molecule based on positioning regions of high electron density as far apart as possible to minimize electrostatic repulsion |
vector | quantity having magnitude and direction |