Covalent Bonds: Their bonds can be broken by homolytic fission or hetrolytic fission.
• Homolytic Fission: Breaking of bond. Each of the bonded atoms takes one of the shared pair of
electrons from the bond. Now both atoms are radicals- species with a single unpaired electron.
Shown with a single dot. C2H6 -> .
CH3 + .
CH3
• Hetrolytic Fission: Breaking of bond. One of the bonded atoms takes both of the electrons from
the bond to form an anion. The other forms a cation ion. Bond pair becomes a lone pair on oxygen.
• Reaction Mechanisms: Shows how the reaction takes place.
• Curly Arrows: Used to show movement of an electron pair.
• Addition: Two reactants join together to form one product.
• Substitution: An atom or group of atoms is replaced by a different atom or group of atoms. Will
sub in most reactive part.
• Elimination: Removal of a small molecule from a larger one. One reactant forms two products.
