Final answer:
Most chemical bonding is neither purely ionic nor purely covalent because electrons are often shared unequally between atoms due to differences in electronegativity, resulting in polar covalent bonds that exhibit partial positive and negative charges.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most chemical bonding is neither purely ionic nor purely covalent because of the way electrons are distributed between atoms. In ionic bonding, electrons are completely transferred from one atom to another, leading to the formation of cations and anions. These ions then attract each other due to electrostatic forces. Conversely, in pure covalent bonding, atoms share electrons equally, often seen in diatomic molecules with identical atoms like H2 or Cl2.
However, many chemical bonds are polar covalent, where electrons are shared unequally because one atom has a higher electronegativity than the other, resulting in a partial negative charge on the more electronegative atom and a partial positive charge on the other. This uneven sharing creates a polar bond with a dipolar moment. The concept of electronegativity helps to explain why most compounds have bonds that lie somewhere between the extremes of purely ionic and purely covalent, often exhibiting polar covalent character.