Nuclear & Particle Physics - Bonding Mechanism

Solid Argon is held together by which of the following bonding mechanism?

A. Ionic bond only
B. Covalent bond only
C. Partly covalent and partly ionic bond
D. Metallic bond
E. Van der Waals bond

(GR9277 #24)

Solution:

Solid argon →  a noble gas full outermost electron shell

(A) FALSE
Ionic bond only → giving/receiving electron

(B) FALSE
Covalent bond only → sharing electron

(C) FALSE
Partly covalent and partly ionic bond

(D) FALSE
Metallic bond → a positive charge/nucleus swimming in a sea of free electron → FALSE

(E) TRUE
Van der Waals bond:

• occur between atoms or molecules of the same type
• occur due to variances in charge distribution in the atom

Answer: E