Chem Week 3:www.visionlearning.com

This a a good web site for basic, simple explanations. I stayed with the Chemical bonding page but found it very helpful in explaining the nature of these bonds. It explained how when sodium and chlorine bond, the sodium molecule 'gets smaller in size, while the chlorine grows larger when it gains an additional valence electron.' (I wonder if it would be more accurate to state that it occupies more or less space rather than "gets smaller" or "larger"?) Any way, it also has a really easy to understand explanation of the electron sharing that occurs in polar covalent bonding, along with a great animation demonstrating this. My understanding is that in polar covalent bonding one atom has a "greater affinity" for the electrons, a stronger pull; a pull that is strong enough to keep the electron around it more often than the other atom, but not strong enough to totally rip it away. Thus...they share!