Properties of Substances and Their Bonds

  1. Substances can be held together by a variety of bond types.
  2. Some substances only use strong ionic or covalent bonds.
    Sodium Chloride - Ionic Bonds
    (1350 °C mp)

    Diamond - Covalent Bonds
    (4000°C mp)

  3. Some substances use only weak van der Waals bonds (London dispersion).
  4. Some substances use both covalent bonds and weak van der Waals bonds (both dipole-dipole and London dispersion).


  5. The strength of the bonds that hold the smallest chunk of that substance together will determine much of the physical properties of that substance.

    Which bonds are the strongest and which are the weakest according to the melting points listed above?