Question

13 multiple choice 2 points a student claims that fluorine will form an ionic bond with sodium but a covalent bond with carb which reasoning best supports this claim using periodic trends? fluorines electronegativity is the highest on the periodic table, so it tends to gai carbon and fluorine both have low electronegativity, so neither attracts electrons strong fluorines small atomic radius prevents it from bonding with carbon in any way. sodium and fluorine are both metals, so they share electrons equally. clear my selection

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze ionic bond formation

Ionic bonds form when there is a large difference in electronegativity. Sodium (a metal) has low electronegativity and fluorine (a non - metal) has high electronegativity. Fluorine (highest electronegativity) gains an electron from sodium (loses an electron) to form an ionic bond.

Step2: Analyze covalent bond formation

Covalent bonds form when the electronegativity difference is small. Carbon has moderate electronegativity. Fluorine's high electronegativity (but not as large a difference with carbon as with sodium) allows for sharing of electrons (covalent bond).

Step3: Check other options

• Option B: Fluorine has high electronegativity (not low), so this is wrong.
• Option C: Fluorine and carbon do bond (e.g., in \(CF_4\)), so this is wrong.
• Option D: Sodium is a metal, fluorine is a non - metal. They do not share electrons equally (ionic bond), so this is wrong.

Answer:

A. Fluorine's electronegativity is the highest on the periodic table, so it tends to gain electrons.