Electronegativity

We met electronegativity briefly last year. It is a relative measure of how tightly an atom attracts electrons in a chemical bond.

We use the Pauling Scale to represent the strength of this attraction. Fluorine is the most electronegative element with a value of 4.0.

The difference in electronegativity can be used to infer the type of bonding between atoms. The higher the difference, the more ionic a bond will be in nature (transfer of electrons). The closer the electronegativity of the two atoms (to each other) the more covalent a bond will be in nature (sharing of electrons).

We need to know:

1. A definition for electronegativity
2. The periodic trend for electronegativity
3. The reasons for these trends (relating to atomic structure)