Question

What is the difference between ionic compounds and polar covalent compounds.

Answer 1

Hint: The ionic compounds are formed by the transfer of electrons by one atom to the other and polar covalent bond is formed by the sharing of electrons between the two atoms to form the compound.

Complete answer:
Ionic compounds are the compounds formed by the differently charged species which are arranged in a closed pack structure. The atom forms negative anion and positive cation to attain stable electronic configuration. The ionic compounds contain anion and cation which are held together by ionic bonds. The ionic bonds are formed by the transfer of electrons from one atom to the other permanently. The ionic bond is also known as electrovalent bond which is formed by the electrostatic attraction possessing between the two oppositely charged ions. The ionic compounds are formed when a metal component reacts with a non-metal. Example of an ionic compound is sodium chloride NaCl where sodium Na is a cation and chloride Cl is an anion.
When the atom cannot lose or gain its electrons to form an anion or a cation as the energy barrier is very high so they share their electrons with other atom to form covalent bond and the resulting compound formed by the sharing of electrons between the two atoms is covalent compound. The covalent compound is formed by two non-metals. The polar covalent bond is formed between the two atoms having difference in electronegativity and as a result charge distribution takes place. The electrons are unequally shared in the polar covalent bond and the compound formed is polar covalent compound. Example of a polar covalent compound is hydrochloric acid HCl, here hydrogen H possesses positive charge and chloride Cl possesses negative charge.

Note: There is another type of covalent bond formed between the atoms whose electronegative value is the same. This bond is formed by the equal sharing of electrons between the two atoms. The resulting bond is known as a nonpolar covalent bond. Distribution of charge can be seen in both ionic compounds and polar covalent compounds.