Student Exploration: Ionic Bonds
Vocabulary: chemical family, electron affinity, ion, ionic bond, metal, nonmetal, octet rule, shell, valence electron
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Nate and Clara are drawing pictures with markers. There are 8 markers in a set. Nate has 9 markers and Clara has 7. What can Nate and Clara do so that each of them has a full set?
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2. Maggie is sitting at a table with Fred and Florence. Maggie has 10 markers, but Fred and Florence each have only 7 markers. How can they share markers so each has 8?
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Gizmo Warm-up
Just like students sharing markers, atoms sometimes share or swap electrons. By doing this, atoms form bonds. The Ionic Bonds Gizmo™ allows you to explore how ionic bonds form.
To begin, check that Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl) are selected from the menus at right. Click Play ([pic]) to see electrons orbiting the nucleus of each atom. (Note: These atom models are simplified and not meant to be realistic.)
1. Each atom consists of a central nucleus and several shells that contain electrons. The outermost electrons are called valence electrons. (Inner electrons are not shown.)
How many valence electrons does each atom have? Sodium: ______ Chlorine: ______
2. Click Pause ([pic]). Elements can be classified as metals and nonmetals. Metals do not hold on to their valence electrons very tightly, while nonmetals hold their electrons tightly. Electron affinity is a measure of how tightly the valence electrons are held.
A. Try pulling an electron away from each atom. Based on this experiment, which atom is a metal? ____________________ Which is a nonmetal? ____________________ B. Try moving an electron from