Question

Will chlorine and oxygen atoms form an ionic bond? Why or why not?

A) Yes, because chlorine is a nonmetal and oxygen is a metal.
B) No, because both chlorine and oxygen are nonmetals.
C) Yes, because chlorine and oxygen have opposite charges.
D) No, because ionic bonds only form between elements in the same period.

Answer 1

Chlorine and oxygen do not form an ionic bond because they are both nonmetals. They are more likely to share electrons in a covalent bond rather than transfer electrons to form an ionic bond.

Step-by-step explanation:

Will chlorine and oxygen atoms form an ionic bond? The correct answer is B) No, because both chlorine and oxygen are nonmetals. Ionic bonds typically form between a metal, which loses electrons to become a positively charged cation, and a nonmetal, which gains electrons to become a negatively charged anion.

Since chlorine and oxygen are both nonmetals found in the upper-right corner of the periodic table, they have a tendency to gain electrons rather than lose them.

Therefore, they are unlikely to form an ionic bond with each other; instead, they'll form covalent bonds, where they share electrons.