SAT II Chemistry : Ionic Bonds

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Ionic Bonds

How many of the following compounds are ionic?

Possible Answers:

Three

Zero

One

All five

Two

Correct answer:

Two

Explanation:

Ionic compounds are chemical compounds made of charged ions held together by forces called ionic bonding. Ionic bonds are formed by transfers of valance electrons, which create charged atoms (ions) which are attracted to each other because they have opposite charges. This is not be confused with covalent bonding, in which atoms form an attraction by sharing electrons.

 contains a positively charged  ion and negatively charged  ion which form an ionic bond.  contains two positively charged  ions and a negatively charged  ion which form an ionic bond. , , and  are all examples of molecules that contain covalent bonds. None of them contains any charged ions. The answer is therefore "two," referring to the  and  molecules.

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