Which molecule or compound below contains an ionic bond?
SiF4
OCl2
C2Cl4
CO2
NH4NO3
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: NH₄NO₃ (Ammonium nitrate)
Explanation:
To determine which compound contains an ionic bond, we need to understand the nature of bonding:
- Ionic bonds form between metals and nonmetals, or between polyatomic ions where one ion donates electrons to another, creating oppositely charged ions that attract each other.
- Covalent bonds, by contrast, involve the sharing of electrons between nonmetals.
Let’s analyze each option:
- SiF₄ (Silicon tetrafluoride)
- Silicon (a metalloid) and fluorine (a nonmetal) form covalent bonds.
- Though fluorine is highly electronegative, the bonds are polar covalent, not ionic.
- OCl₂ (Dichlorine monoxide)
- Oxygen and chlorine are both nonmetals.
- This molecule has covalent bonds.
- C₂Cl₄ (Tetrachloroethylene)
- Carbon and chlorine are both nonmetals.
- The bonds here are covalent.
- CO₂ (Carbon dioxide)
- Carbon and oxygen are nonmetals.
- This compound has covalent bonds, specifically double bonds between carbon and oxygen.
- NH₄NO₃ (Ammonium nitrate)
- This is an ionic compound made up of two polyatomic ions:
- NH₄⁺ (ammonium): a positively charged ion (cation)
- NO₃⁻ (nitrate): a negatively charged ion (anion)
- The bond between NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ is ionic, due to electrostatic attraction between opposite charges.
- Within each ion, atoms are held together by covalent bonds, but the attraction between the two ions is ionic in nature.
- This is an ionic compound made up of two polyatomic ions:
Conclusion:
NH₄NO₃ is the only compound in the list that contains an ionic bond, due to the electrostatic attraction between the ammonium and nitrate ions. This makes it unique among the given compounds, which otherwise involve only covalent bonding.
