Question

The elements A, B and C belong to groups 1, 14, and 17 respectively of the periodic table.
(a) Which two elements will form a covalent compound?
(b) Which two elements will form an ionic compound?

Answer 1

(a) The element B combines with the element C to form a covalent compound. The elements B and C belong to group 14 and group 17, respectively, which are non-metals. Therefore, when two non-metals react with each other, sharing of electrons takes place, which further results in the formation of a covalent bond.

(b) The element A combines with the element C to form an ionic compound. The element A belonging to group 1 is a metal. The element C belonging to group 17 is a non-metal. Therefore, when a metal combines with a non-metal, electrons are transferred from the metal to the non-metal, resulting in the formation of an ionic bond.