Ionic versus Covalent Bonding Decision

One mechanism from Chapter 1: Building Blocks.

flowchart TD
  Start["Two atoms with unfilled valence shells"] --> Q{"Large electronegativity difference?"}
  Q -->|"Yes, metal plus nonmetal"| Ionic["Transfer electrons"]
  Q -->|"No, nonmetal plus nonmetal"| Covalent["Share electrons"]
  Ionic --> Cation["Cation (Na+)"]
  Ionic --> Anion["Anion (Cl-)"]
  Cation --> Lattice["Crystal lattice (NaCl)"]
  Anion --> Lattice
  Covalent --> Geom{"Does geometry cancel charge?"}
  Geom -->|"Yes"| Nonpolar["Nonpolar molecule (CO2)"]
  Geom -->|"No"| Polar["Polar molecule (H2O)"]

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Diagrams · The Big Picture · Chapter 1