Question #1223f
1 Answer
Feb 12, 2015
Metallic substances are covalent, and ionic are bonded in a crystal lattice structure.
All covalent compounds contain metals, so generally when looking at the compound name, you can tell what is covalent based on whether or not it contains a metal in it.
With ionic, the particles are arranged in crystal lattice. This means that they are bonded together in a tight and predictable formation, caused by the attraction between the ions of different charges. The ions "stick" to each other because they are attracted to each other, and the tightly packed formation is referred to as the lattice.
As for covalent, they are arranged in the standard way you see in Lewis Structures. [may need elaboration] There is no strict, tight pattern.
