What makes a covalent bond different from an ionic bong?

Answer 1

The most obvious difference is that covalent bondingoccurs between non-metals, whereas ionic bondingoccurs between a metal and a non-metal.

Covalent bonding is also a bonding process which shares electrons, whereas ionic bonding is a bonding process in which electrons are transferred. This would therefore also affect the way in which you draw dot and cross diagrams for a covalent compound versus an ionic compound.

Answer 2

In a covalent bond, atoms share electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, resulting in a strong bond between the atoms. In an ionic bond, one atom donates an electron to another atom to achieve a stable electron configuration, resulting in a transfer of electrons and the formation of oppositely charged ions that are attracted to each other.