What are the atoms trying to accomplish when they bond with other atoms?

Answer 1

Fill their outer energy levels!! aplus haha

Answer 2

they are trying to become stable. noble gasses are stable by themselves and all other atoms need to fill the shells of electrons to become as stable as a noble gas. by sharing electrons the atoms become stable. for eg. H20 is made of oxygen and hydrogen. oxygen has 8 electrons and is not stable. and needs to gain 2 more electrons to mimic the amount of electrons its closest noble gas has, to become stable. by taking two atoms of hydrogen with 1 electron in each, oxygen has 10 electrons, and is stable

Answer 3

The lowest energy configuration

In science, we say that events happen to produce a more stable system. When two substances react, the products are more stable than the reactants. As the reaction occurs energy may be released. In the atomic world, the energy of a molecule is in the bonds between the atoms. The release of energy is one method of becoming more stable. When energy is released during a chemical reaction, the products are more stable than the reactants.

In a chemical reaction, the amount of energy which is released is determined by the equation below.

Total bond energy of products - Total bond energy of reactants = Heat energy that is released

This energy is called bond energy. When two molecules collide with each other, bonds are broken and new bonds are formed. For the products to be more stable than the reactants, the molecules of the products must be more stable than the molecules of the reactants.

What are the atoms trying to accomplish when they bond with other atoms? Stability!

As substances react, the atoms in the molecules of the reactants recombine in a different pattern, so that the atoms will be more stable.

Hydrogen is a very unstable substance. A hydrogen atom consists of 1 proton and 1 electron. A hydrogen molecule consists of 2 two protons separated a specific distance, and 2 electrons, which form a single bond between the 2 protons. Since the protons have the same charge, they repel each other. This means that two hydrogen atoms are not stable, when they are bonded to each other. The bond energy is 104 kcal per mole. This is the amount of electrostatic energy, which is required to prevent the two protons from moving away from each other.

An oxygen atom has 8 protons and 8 electrons. Two of the electrons are in the first shell. The other 6 electrons form 2 pairs and 2 single electrons. An oxygen molecule consists of 2 nuclei, each of which contains 8 protons, and 16 electrons. When two oxygen atoms bond to form a molecule, the 4 of the electrons form a double bond. The other 12 electrons form 6 pairs of electrons, which are surrounding the two nuclei. The purpose of the double bond and the 6 pairs of electrons is to prevent the two moles of hydrogen nuclei from separating from each other. The bond energy is 119 kcal per mole.

Two hydrogen molecules and one molecule react to form two water molecules. A water molecule has 2 single bonds, between the 2 hydrogen atoms and the oxygen atom. The bond energy of an O- H bond is 111 kcal/mole. This means that 114 kilocalories of energy is required to prevent one mole oxygen atoms from separating from one mole of hydrogen atom. Since the water molecule contains 2 O - H bonds, the bond energy is 222 kcal/mole.

2 H2 + O2 → 2H2O

Let's determine the amount of bond energy in the product, 2 moles of H2O, and the amount of bond energy in the reactants, 2 moles of H2 and 1 mole of O2.

2 * 104 = 208

Total bond energy for reactants = 208 + 119 = 327 kcal

2 * 222 = 444

Total bond energy of product = 444 kcal per mole

Total bond energy of product - Total bond energy for reactants = 444 - 327 = 117 kcal

This is the amount of energy which is released when two moles of hydrogen reacts with one mole of oxygen. Since energy is released, water must be more stable than hydrogen and oxygen!

What are the atoms trying to accomplish when they bond with other atoms?

The atoms are becoming more stable! When the hydrogen and oxygen atoms have finished reacting, they FEEL more stable. As they feel more stable, they release a sigh of relief, in the form of heat energy!

This my story of how rearranging electrons can help atoms become more stable. I hope this helps you understand the purpose of chemical reactions from the point view of atoms.

Answer 4

Fill their outer energy levels!! aplus haha

Answer 5

In science, we say that events happen to produce a more stable system.