How do you determine if a compound is ionic?

1 Answer
anor277
Jul 8, 2016

If it is a binary salt, #MX#, consider the positions of each element on the Periodic Table.

Explanation:

Does the metal come from the far left of the Periodic Table (as we face it)? Does the non-metal come from the right of the Periodic Table. If so, the compound is likely ionic.

Alkali metals and alkaline earth metals comprise Group I and Group II on the Periodic Table. These are likely to form ionic salts with the common non-metals: the halogens and the chalcogens, as these are very likely to form #X^-# and #E^(2-)# ions.

Are the metals and non-metals closer together on the Periodic Table? Their compounds might have some measure of covalency.

Related questions
See all questions in Ionic Bonding
Impact of this question
2782 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License