Binding of Ionic Compounds

Ionic compounds bind differently than covalent compounds. When looking at a metal and a non  - metal, you will see that all metals have positive ionic charges, and all non - metals will have negative charges. Metals have positive ions because they give away electrons to gain a full outer shell, and non - metals have negative charges because they take electrons to complete their out shell. 

 

As learned in grade 9, the first 18 elements in the periodic table have three shells, which hold 2, 8, and 8 electrons each. Most elements do not have full shells, meaning they have maybe 2 electrons in their first shell, but 7 in their second. However, elements form compounds to fill their outermost shells. In ionic compounds, elements form compounds by either taking electrons from another element or giving away electrons. All the elements with positive ionic charges give away their extra electrons, and elements with negative ionic charges take those electrons to make up for their missing electrons. 

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This is the binding of the binary ionic compound, calcium hydride:

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