Types of chemical bonds

    Atoms are the building blocks of all substances. But what is it that keeps atoms connected together? They are held together by CHEMICAL BONDS, strong attractive forces between atoms. Without these ties that bind, the universe would be nothing more than a mass chaos of individual atoms.

    As you sit reading this sentence, billions of atoms surround you. When any two of them approach each other, their outermost electrons come into close contact. Recall that electrons are negatively charged particles, so a chance meeting between atoms usually results in the two repelling each other. Occasionally, however, atoms will stick together by forming a chemical bond.

    There are two main types of bonding discussed here. A COVALENT BOND results when two atoms "share" valence electrons between them. An IONIC BOND occurs when one atom gains a valence electron from a different atom, forming a negative ion (ANION) and a positive ion (CATION), respectively. These oppositely charged ions are attracted to each other, forming an ionic bond.