9-12

E5: Describe how atoms are joined by chemical bonding.

Curriculum Organizing Questions	What is a chemical bond? How are these atoms bonded? Describe the characteristics of ionic bonding; of covalent bonding; of metallic bonding. What intermolecular forces (bonds) are present in this substance?
Elaboration	Bonds between atoms are created when electrons are paired up by being transferred or shared. A substance composed of single kind of atom is an element. The atoms may be bonded together into molecules or crystalline solids. A compound is formed when two or more atoms bind together chemcially. NSES p. 179 2c An atom's electron configuration, particularly the outermost electrons, determines how the atom can interact with other atoms. Benchmark 4D1
Specific Ideas
Developmental & Instructional Implications	Pupils find difficulty in developing an adequete conception of the chemical combination of elements until they can interpret combination at the particle level. However, a particulate view does not ensure an understanding of chemical combination. Driver p. 97 Many students do not view chemical changes as interactions. They do not understand that substances can be formed by the recombination of atoms in the original substances. Rather, they see chemical change as the result of a separate change in the original substance, or changes, each one separate, in several original substances. For example, some students see the smoke formed when wood burns as having been driven out of the wood by the flame (Andersson, 1990). Atlas p. 60
Examples

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