particular sodium atom bonded to a particular
chlorine atom. In water, salt dissolves into
separate positive sodium ions and negative
chloride ions.
Ionic and covalent bonds. Left: An ionic bond
results when an atom completely captures one
or more electrons of another atom, and the
two atoms experience an attractive force
(dotted line) due to their opposite electrical
charges. Right: In the covalent bond, atoms
share electrons, and thereby form stable
combinations called molecules.
Strong Bonds That Make Molecules A
second kind of chemical bond, called covalent
(from the Latin, “of equal power”), produces
stable molecules. When two atoms have