Electronegativity, the tendency of an atom to attract electrons, is the reason for this. Nonmetals are more electronegative than metals by such a degree that they are often able to completely pull away a metal's valence electrons.
Many compounds beween metals and non metals are ionic.
Metals with lower electronegativities tend to form ionic compounds, the rest form both ionic and covalent compounds. (check out the electronegativity table on wikipedia)
However there are many examples of metals bonding covalently to non metals.
Examples of covalent bonding include organometallic compounds which contain a metal - carbon covalent bond and metal carbonyls. Many metal carbides are not ionic, similarly nitrides. the list goes on and on.
Many ionic compounds do contain at least one metal because often the cation (+ve charged ion) is a metal e.g. sodium, iron etc. HOWEVER many compounds, for example ammonium chloride are also ionic and contain cations that do not contain a metal.
All compounds are made of ions, no matter what. All compounds are made of ions, no matter what. All compounds are made of ions, no matter what.
Because ionic compounds must contain one negative ion and one positive ion. The metal always the positive ion and the nonmetal is the negative ion.
hope that helps!
Ionically bonded compounds.
ionic compounds form between metals and non-metals.
Potassium nitrate is ionic. Metal compounds tend to be ionic as metal atoms readily form positive ions. It consists of potassium (K+) ions (group 1 metals always form 1+ ions) and nitrate (NO3-) ions in a 1:1 ratio.
Compounds that are formed from cations and anions, or ions with negative and positive charge. Ionic compounds are also compounds that are formed from a metal and a non-metal.
Non-ionized (stable) nonmetals, or metal ions.
Ionically bonded compounds.
Ionic compounds do not require the presence of a metal, for example ammonium chloride is ionic and does not contain a metallic element. What is true is that the majority of ionic compounds involve at least one metal.Most ionic compound include a metal because metals readily form positive ions while nonmetals do not, with the exception of some polyatomic ions.
Compounds with covalent bonds form molecules not ions Compounds consisting of non-metals bonded to nonmetals do not form ions
it consists of a flow of ions
Monatomic ions of metals are positively charged and monatomic ions of nonmetals are negatively charged.
ionic compounds form between metals and non-metals.
Potassium nitrate is ionic. Metal compounds tend to be ionic as metal atoms readily form positive ions. It consists of potassium (K+) ions (group 1 metals always form 1+ ions) and nitrate (NO3-) ions in a 1:1 ratio.
Transition metals tend to have colorful ions and compounds.
Compounds that are formed from cations and anions, or ions with negative and positive charge. Ionic compounds are also compounds that are formed from a metal and a non-metal.
Non-ionized (stable) nonmetals, or metal ions.
They don't entirely make up ionic compounds. Most ionic compounds contain a metal and at least one nonmetal element, with the metal forming the positive ion. However in a few cases an ionic compound may be made up entirely of nonmetals forming polyatomic ions (e.g. ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3).
Ionic compounds: NaCl, KOH, CuSO4, etc. Any compound containing a metal and a non-metal. In ionic compounds, metals have positive ions (they lose electrons to the non metal) and non-metals have negative ions (as they gain electrons from the metal) Covalent compounds: CH4, BF3, NH3, all hydrocarbons/ all compounds containing only non-metals.