Question

When sodium and chlorine react, energy is:
(A) Released and ionic bond is formed
(B) Released and a covalent bond is formed
(C) Absorbed and a covalent bond is formed.
(D) Absorbed and an ionic bond is formed.

Answer 1

Hint: We know that when any two reactants are reacted the product is formed by breaking or bonding of either covalent bond or either ionic bond. So, we will consider the basics of the chemistry of chemical reactions.

Complete step by step answer
First, we will understand the covalent and the ionic bond. So, let’s start with a covalent bond. A covalent bond is a chemical bond that is formed by the sharing of electron pairs between two atoms. The electron pairs are also known as the shared pair of electrons or the bonding electrons. Now we will discuss the ionic bond. An ionic bond is a bond that involves the complete transfer of valence electrons between the atoms. It is the type of chemical bond which acts between two oppositely charged ions.
Now we will go back to our question of what happens when sodium and chlorine react. So we can write the equations as $ 2Na + C{l_2} \to 2NaCl $ . When sodium reacts with chlorine the product formed is sodium chloride which is commonly known as the table salt. So, let’s understand the chemistry of this reaction here we can observe that the reactants sodium and chlorine are oppositely charged ions. We know that there will be a complete transfer of the electrons in the ionic bond and there is complete balance and the transfer of the electrons. So, an ionic bond is formed between sodium and chlorine. The formation of ionic bonds is exothermic.
Therefore, the correct option is (A).

Note:
The ionic bond formation is fast and exothermic. The exothermic reactions are the reactions in which the energy is released. The reactions in which the energy is absorbed are known as an endothermic reaction.