Cambridge O Level Chemistry · Syllabus 5070 · Atoms, Elements and Compounds
Giant ionic lattice
What is Giant ionic lattice?
The structure of an ionic compound: a regular three-dimensional arrangement in which positive and negative ions alternate, each ion surrounded by ions of the opposite charge. The electrostatic attractions act in all directions and continue throughout the whole crystal, so an ionic compound has no molecules, only a repeating pattern of ions in a fixed ratio.
This definition is part of the Atoms, Elements and Compounds chapter in Cambridge O Level Chemistry.
Giant ionic lattice in context
An atom is the smallest particle of an element, made of a central nucleus containing protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons arranged in shells. Chapter 2 of Cambridge O Level Chemistry 5070 builds everything on this structure: the proton number fixes which element an atom is, the electronic configuration (for example 2,8,3) fixes how its outer electrons behave, and what those outer electrons do — transfer, share or delocalise — decides whether a substance forms a giant ionic lattice, simple molecules, a giant covalent structure or a giant metallic lattice. Each structure in turn explains the melting point, the electrical conductivity and the uses of the substance.