Magnesium nitrate contains chemical bonds that are ?

1. Covalent Only
2. Ionic Only
3. Both Covalent And Ionic
4. Neither Covalent Nor Ionic

The answer is 3, but I don't know why. How does NO3 even bond?

The bonds between Mg^+2 and NO3^- ions are considered ionic. The N-O bonds of the nitrate are covalent bonds.

To determine the type of chemical bonds present in a compound like magnesium nitrate (Mg(NO3)2), you first need to understand the bonding behavior of each atom involved.

Nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) atoms have a difference in electronegativity, which means they have an unequal tendency to attract electrons. Nitrogen is more electronegative than oxygen. Due to this difference, nitrogen tends to pull the shared electrons in its covalent bonds closer to itself, creating partial negative charges around the oxygen atoms and a partial positive charge on the nitrogen atom. This is known as the polarity of the NO3 ion.

Now, when we consider the magnesium cation (Mg2+), it has two positive charges because it has lost two electrons. Magnesium typically forms an ionic bond when it reacts with non-metals such as nitrogen and oxygen. An ionic bond occurs when one atom donates electrons to another atom, resulting in the formation of positive and negative ions that attract each other.

In the case of magnesium nitrate, the magnesium cation (Mg2+) donates two electrons to each nitrate (NO3-) ion, which accepts these electrons. As a result, the nitrate ion becomes negatively charged, and the magnesium ion becomes positively charged. The positive and negative charges attract each other, forming an ionic bond between magnesium and nitrate.

Based on this understanding, we can conclude that magnesium nitrate contains both covalent and ionic bonds. The covalent bond exists within the NO3 ion due to the unequal sharing of electrons between nitrogen and oxygen. The ionic bond exists between the magnesium cation and the nitrate anion due to the transfer of electrons from magnesium to nitrate.

Magnesium nitrate (Mg(NO3)2) contains chemical bonds that are both covalent and ionic.

NO3 refers to the nitrate ion, which is composed of a central nitrogen atom bonded to three oxygen atoms. In the nitrate ion, the nitrogen atom forms covalent bonds with the oxygen atoms by sharing electron pairs. This covalent bonding occurs within the nitrate ion.

However, when magnesium nitrate is formed, the nitrate ion donates one of its extra electrons to the magnesium atom. This transfer of electrons creates an ionic bond between magnesium and nitrate. In an ionic bond, one atom transfers electrons to another, resulting in the formation of oppositely charged ions that attract each other.

Therefore, the combination of the covalent bonding within the nitrate ion and the ionic bonding between magnesium and nitrate in magnesium nitrate makes it a compound with both covalent and ionic bonds.