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What is a covalent bond and a ionic bond?

A covalent bond is a bond between two nonmetals, where the electrons are essentially shared.
For example water is H2O.
Oxygen needs two more electrons to have a full valence (outer shell) and each hydrogen needs one electron, so they share electrons to form the stable compound water.

An ionic bond is a bond between a metal and a nonmetal, where there is an exchange of electrons. Since one atom is giving up electrons it has an overall positive charge, the other atom then is gaining electrons, leaving it with a negative charge. Since opposites charges attract, the compound is stable and stays together
For example salt is NaCl.
Sodium needs to get rid of the extra electron so that it has a stable valance shell, while chlorine needs to gain another electron to have a full valance shell. So sodium gives its extra electron to chlorine, and now they both are stable.

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