Labs / Chemistry
Bond Type Predictor
Pick an atom for each side and watch the shared electrons drift toward whichever atom pulls harder. The bigger the electronegativity difference (ΔEN), the more lopsided the sharing — until the electrons are handed over completely and the bond turns ionic.
O EN 3.44H EN 2.20ΔEN 1.24Pull —Bond Polar covalent
What to try
- Put the same atom on both sides (F and F). Where do the electrons sit, and why is that bond nonpolar?
- Pair sodium with chlorine. At what point do the electrons stop being shared and get transferred outright?
- Build the O–H bond found in water. Which atom ends up slightly negative?
- Can you find two atoms whose ΔEN lands right on a boundary between bond types? What happens to the animation there?
- Keep one atom fixed and swap the other through the whole row. How does the electron pull track the electronegativity difference?