Chemical Bonding Confusion

Ei c%20 chemical%20 bonding[1]

Some thoughts on the sources of confusion around chemical bonding having read Stephenson and Warrens' article in this month's Education in Chemistry

The current issue of Education in Chemistry has a great article on the issues surrounding teaching chemical bonding with some useful links to additional resources on Learn Chemistry. Several misconceptions stem from the dominance of the octet/filled shell model in the description of chemical bonding, where the over-riding consideration is the “need” to have a full outer shell. With only this consideration in mind, Stephenson and Warren explain in their article, students can easily come to the conclusion that reactions happen due to the transfer of electrons to form ionic bonds or share electrons to form covalent bonds.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, nor is this an issue restricted to school level chemistry. There is a lot of research demonstrating significant misunderstanding at third level.

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor. 

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

  • unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
  • teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
  • applications for funding to support your lessons

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.