c5 covalent bonding
4 detailed 50-minute lessons with teaching scripts, worked examples, parent guides, and assessment criteria.
Lesson Overview
Total Lessons: 4
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Learning Objectives
- Explain the key ideas of c5 covalent bonding
- Apply c5 covalent bonding to exam-style questions
- Develop independent study skills
- Build cross-topic connections
Prerequisites
- Read the revision notes for c5 covalent bonding first (GCSE Revise summary)
- Key vocab to pre-teach: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure
- Basic skills: reading the summary notes and answering the practice questions there
Materials & Equipment
- Exercise book, coloured pens
- Scientific calculator
- Ruler
- Printed revision notes (link below)
- Internet for videos (see Resources)
Lesson 1: Introduction: c5 covalent bonding
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Write down everything you already know about c5 covalent bonding. Then check against the key terms: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure. Use a mini-whiteboard or paper.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide:
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Teaching Script (35 mins):
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: c5 covalent bonding. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Chemistry because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: c5 covalent bonding. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Chemistry because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
First Look
Start with the revision notes summary, then attempt: Foundation Describe how a covalent bond forms. How is it different from an ionic bond?
Plenary (5 minutes)
Check Out
Your student states one thing they learned and one question they still have about c5 covalent bonding.
Lesson 2: Core Concepts: c5 covalent bonding
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Review Previous Lesson
Quick recap: write 3 key points from Lesson 1 on c5 covalent bonding. Check them against the notes below.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Covalent bond: A shared pair of electrons between two non-metal atoms. Each atom contributes one electron to the shared pair. Both atoms achieve a full outer shell.
Simple molecular substance: A substance made up of separate molecules, each containing a fixed number of atoms joined by covalent bonds (e.g. H₂O, CO₂).
Giant covalent structure: A huge network of atoms all joined by covalent bonds in a giant lattice (e.g. diamond, graphite).
Intermolecular forces: Weak forces of attraction between molecules (NOT between atoms within a molecule). These are much weaker than covalent bonds.
Delocalised electron: An electron that is not attached to a particular atom and is free to move through the structure.
Key principle: Each atom contributes one electron to each shared pair. A single covalent bond is one shared pair of electrons. A double bond is two shared pairs (e.g. O=O in O₂). A triple bond is three shared pairs (e.g. N≡N in N₂).
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Low melting and boiling points | Weak intermolecular forces between molecules require little energy to overcome | |
| Mostly liquids or gases at room temperature | Due to low melting/boiling points | |
| Do NOT conduct electricity | No delocalised electrons or free ions to carry charge | |
| Often insoluble in water | Many covalent molecules do not interact with water (some exceptions like sugar) | |
| Carbon bonds per atom | 4 | 3 |
| Arrangement | Rigid 3D tetrahedral | Layers of hexagons |
| Hardness | Very hard | Soft / slippery |
| Electrical conductivity | Does not conduct | Conducts (delocalised electrons) |
Practice (10 minutes)
Q: Foundation Describe how a covalent bond forms. How is it different from an ionic bond?
Answer: A covalent bond forms when two non-metal atoms share a pair of electrons, with each atom contributing one electron to the shared pair. This is different from an ionic bond, where electrons are transferred from a metal to a non-metal forming charged ions that are attracted to each other.
Plenary (5 minutes)
Explain Back
Your student teaches the key points back to you without looking. Fill any gaps immediately.
Lesson 3: Application: c5 covalent bonding
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Recall the key terms: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure. Define each in one sentence.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide: Let your student attempt each question alone first, then compare with the model answer. Award method marks for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.
Q1: Foundation Describe how a covalent bond forms. How is it different from an ionic bond?
Answer: A covalent bond forms when two non-metal atoms share a pair of electrons, with each atom contributing one electron to the shared pair. This is different from an ionic bond, where electrons are transferred from a metal to a non-metal forming charged ions that are attracted to each other.
Q2: Foundation Draw a dot and cross diagram for a molecule of ammonia (NH₃).
Answer: In NH₃, nitrogen (5 outer electrons) shares one pair with each of three hydrogen atoms (1 outer electron each). Nitrogen contributes one electron to each shared pair, and each hydrogen contributes one. Nitrogen keeps one lone pair of electrons. The diagram shows N in the centre with three H atoms, each H—N bond shown as a shared pair (one dot, one cross).
Q3: Foundation Explain why simple molecular substances have low melting and boiling points. Why is it important to mention intermolecular forces?
Answer: Simple molecular substances have low melting/boiling points because the intermolecular forces between molecules are weak and require little energy to overcome. It is crucial to mention intermolecular forces because the covalent bonds WITHIN the molecules are actually very strong - they do NOT break when the substance melts or boils. Only the weak forces BETWEEN molecules are overcome.
Q4: Higher Explain why graphite conducts electricity but diamond does not, even though both are made of carbon atoms.
Answer: Graphite conducts electricity because each carbon atom forms only 3 covalent bonds, leaving one electron per atom delocalised (free to move throughout the structure). These delocalised electrons can carry charge. Diamond does not conduct electricity because each carbon atom forms 4 covalent bonds - all 4 outer electrons are used in bonding, so there are no delocalised electrons to carry charge.
Q5: Higher Compare the structure and properties of diamond, graphite and graphene. Include at least three comparisons.
Answer: Three comparisons: (1) Bonding: diamond has 4 bonds per C atom (tetrahedral), graphite and graphene have 3 bonds per C atom (hexagonal layers). (2) Conductivity: diamond does not conduct (no delocalised electrons), graphite and graphene do conduct (one delocalised electron per C atom). (3) Hardness: diamond is very hard (rigid 3D structure), graphite is soft (layers slide), graphene is very strong and flexible (single layer). (4) Melting point: all three have very high melting points because of the strong covalent bonds.
Q6: Foundation What are fullerenes? Describe the structure of buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) and give one use of carbon nanotubes.
Answer: Fullerenes are molecules of carbon atoms shaped like hollow balls, tubes or cages. Buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) is a hollow sphere of 60 carbon atoms arranged in pentagons and hexagons (like a football). Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical fullerenes that are very strong and conduct electricity - used in electronics, materials science and medicine.
Plenary (5 minutes)
Error Review
Review any questions answered incorrectly. Identify whether the error was knowledge, method, or reading the question.
Lesson 4: Exam Practice: c5 covalent bonding
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Command Words
Review what these command words require: state (one point), describe (say what happens), explain (say why), compare (both sides), evaluate (judgement).
Main Content (35 minutes)
Extended Answer
Extended question: Extended Answer 6 marks: Compare simple molecular and giant covalent structures. <div class="
Simple molecular structures (e.g. H₂O, CO₂) consist of separate molecules with strong covalent bonds within each molecule but weak intermolecular forces between molecules. This gives them low melting and boiling points because little energy is needed to overcome the weak intermolecular forces. They do not conduct electricity because there are no free electrons or ions. Giant covalent structures (e.g. diamond, graphite) have a huge network of atoms all joined by strong covalent bonds throughout. This gives them very high melting points because a vast amount of energy is needed to break all the covalent bonds. Diamond does not conduct (no delocalised electrons) but graphite does (one delocalised electron per carbon atom). Mark scheme: 1 mark for describing simple molecular structure; 1 mark for low mp/bp explained by intermolecular forces; 1 mark for no conductivity; 1 mark for describing giant covalent structure; 1 mark for very high mp explained by covalent bonds; 1 mark for conductivity comparison.
Exam Tips: The most common mistake: saying "covalent bonds are weak" when explaining low melting points. It is the intermolecular forces that are weak, NOT the covalent bonds | Always specify "intermolecular forces between molecules" when explaining properties of simple molecular substances | For diamond vs graphite questions, always mention the number of bonds per carbon atom AND delocalised electrons | Graphite conducts because of delocalised electrons - do NOT say "free electrons" as this is less precise | Graphene is a single layer of graphite - remember this for the exam | When drawing dot and cross diagrams, make sure shared pairs are clearly shown in the overlap between atoms
Common Errors: Watch Out! Covalent bonds are weak. Wrong: covalent bonds are weak Correct: covalent bonds within molecules are very strong; it is the intermolecular forces between molecules that are weak Diamond and graphite are different elements. Wrong: diamond and graphite are different elements Correct: both are allotropes of carbon — they are the same element with different structures
AO3 - Reasoning & Interpretation: Analysis and Evaluation Substance A melts at 80°C and does not conduct in any state. Substance B melts at 3550°C and does not conduct. Substance C melts at 3600°C and conducts electricity. Question: Classify each substance as simple molecular, giant covalent (diamond-like) or giant covalent (graphite-like). Justify your answers. Answer: A = simple molecular (low mp, no conductivity). B = giant covalent diamond-like (very high mp, no delocalised electrons so no conductivity). C = giant covalent graphite-like (very high mp, conducts because of delocalised electrons).
Stretch & Challenge (Grade 8-9):
- Synoptic links: explain how c5 covalent bonding connects to another Chemistry topic you have studied
- Real-world: research one real-world use or example of c5 covalent bonding
- Critical: "What are the limitations of the models used in c5 covalent bonding?"
Plenary (5 minutes)
Assessment Criteria
- Got it: Confident explanation + correct worked examples
- Getting there: Main points OK, needs support with detail
- Not yet: Confused on key concepts - re-run Lesson 2
Homework & Consolidation
- Consolidation: Re-answer any Lesson 3 practice questions answered incorrectly (20 mins)
- Retrieval: Write flashcards for the key terms: Covalent bond, Simple molecular substance, Giant covalent structure (10 mins)
- Exam practice: One past-paper question on c5 covalent bonding from the board websites (15 mins)
- Extension: Explain c5 covalent bonding to someone else in your own words (10 mins)