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If oxygen with an electronegativity of 3.4 were to make a chemical bond with lithium, electronegativity of 1.0, what kind of bond would form?

A. Non-polar covalent
B. Ionic
C. Polar covalent
D. Non-polar ionic

User Rhavin
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

An ionic bond would form between oxygen with an electronegativity of 3.4 and lithium with an electronegativity of 1.0, due to the large electronegativity difference, which exceeds the ionic bond threshold.

Step-by-step explanation:

If oxygen with an electronegativity of 3.4 were to make a chemical bond with lithium, which has an electronegativity of 1.0, an ionic bond would form. This is because the difference in electronegativity between the two elements is 3.4 - 1.0 = 2.4, which is greater than the generally accepted threshold of about 1.8 for the formation of an ionic bond. In an ionic bond, one atom donates an electron to another, leading to the formation of ions, where one atom becomes positively charged and the other atom becomes negatively charged.

User Roflharrison
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