The answer is:
a) 0.25%
b) metallic bond
Explanation:
This can be determined through the following formula to quantify the percentage of ionic character of a compound with some covalent traits: percentage of ionic character = Observed dipole moment divided by Calculated dipole moment assuming 100% ionic nature times 100.
- The percentage of ionic character relies on the electronegativities of elements XA and XB. In this case, the electronegativities of Al and Mn are 1.5 and 1.6, respectively.
For the calculation: %IC = [1 - exp(-1/4) (XB-XA)^2] × 100
This results in %IC = [1 - exp(-0.25)(1.6 - 1.5)^2] × 100 = 0.25%
(b) Because the ionic character is so minimal (0.25%) and since the compound is made of two metals, Al and Mn, the bonding is entirely metallic.
Metallic bond details:
- It can vary in strength, being either weak (68 kJ/mole or 0.7 eV/atom for Hg) or strong (850 kJ/mole or 8.8 eV/atom for W).
- Metallic bonds enable high levels of electrical and thermal conductivity.
- The electrons, being loosely bound as each atom has multiple vacant valence orbitals, can move freely, allowing atoms to slide past one another easily.