Chemical bonding misconceptions

If one has differentiated information about elementary particles like protons, neutrons and electrons which connect to questions of chemical bonding, misconceptions can arise which mix bent water molecules or the 11-protons nucleus of a sodium atom with macroscopic characteristics of matter (see also Sect. 4.3). Since electrons are not ordinary basic particles of matter in the sense of atoms, ions and molecules, but are recognized more as charged clouds, orbital or through the particle-wave duality, the mixing of macroscopic and sub-microscopic characteristic properties should be avoided more carefully. 

Ozmen, H. (2004). Some student misconceptions in chemistry. A literature review of chemical bonding. Journal of Science Education and Technology 13(2), 147-159. 

Boo, H.K. Students understanding of chemical bonds and the energetics of chemical reactions. J.Research in Science Teaching 35 (1998), 569 Griffith, A.K., Preston, K.R. Grade-12 Students Misconceptions Relating to Eundamental Characteristics of Atoms and Molecules. J.Research in Science Teaching 29 (1992), 611... 

For the most part, much of the debate in the past between MO and VB theories versus graph theory has illustrated misconceptions about chemical graph theory. The two theoretical methodologies, quantum chemical and graph theoretical, consider somewhat different questions or different aspects of the same problem and are thus complementary to one another rather than competitive. So while MO and VB theories are, and will remain, about the nature of the chemical bond , we can say that Clar s model and chemical graph theory are, and will remain, about the nature of the chemical structure . Clearly, we need both the quantum chemical tool and the graph theoretical ideas to be combined in order to advance our understanding of complex chemical systems. 

The term hydro has been used throughout in this article in preference to the more commonly used terms hydride or hydrido. These latter terms imply that the hydrogen atom bonded to a transition metal has a high electron density comparable to the saline hydrides of Groups lA and IIA. A number of hydro-transition metal compounds do, indeed, show chemical behavior characteristic of a hydridic hydrogen. However, this is in no way general, and, since it is a particularly poor assumption for the compounds of platinum, the use of the term hydro should avoid any misconception on the part of the reader not familiar with this area of chemistry. 

Peterson, R.F., Treagust, D.F. Grade-12 students misconceptions of covalent bonding. Journal of Chemical Education 66 (1989), 459... 

Birk, J.P. and Kurtz, M. J. (1999) Effect of experience on retention and elimination of misconceptions about molecular structure and bonding. Journal of Chemical Education, 76(1), 124-128. 

Peterson, R. F. and Treagnst, D. F. (1989) Grade-12 stndents misconceptions of covalent bonding and strnctnre. Journal of Chemical Education, 66(6), 459-460. 

The Lewis-type (L) contribution is considered the easy part of chemical wavefunction analysis, because it corresponds closely to the elementary Lewis structure model of freshman chemistry. Nevertheless, controversy often arises over the magnitude of steric or electrostatic effects that are associated with the Lewis model itself [i.e., distinct from the resonance-type effects contained in (NL)]. The NBO program offers useful tools for quantifying both steric and electrostatic interactions in terms of the space-filling (size and shape) and dielectric properties (charge, dipole moment, etc.) of the electron pair bonds and lone pairs that comprise the Lewis structure model. This chapter discusses the physical nature and numerical quantitation of these important chemical effects, which are often invoked in a hand-waving manner that reflects (and promotes) significant misconceptions. 

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