Question

How do covalent compounds differ from ionic compounds?

Answer 1

We can differentiate between the ionic compounds and covalent compounds by their properties, type of atoms forming the bond, sharing of the electrons, etc. ionic bonds are much stronger than the covalent bond.

Complete answer:
We know that the compounds formed in nature will have three types of bonds, i.e., ionic bond, covalent bond, and coordinate bond. In most compounds, we see the ionic or covalent bond.
We can differentiate between the ionic compounds and covalent compounds by their properties, type of atoms forming the bond, sharing of the electrons, etc.
Covalent bonds are formed between two atoms and these atoms must be non-metals. For example, the bond formed between a hydrogen atom and chlorine atom, i.e., hydrochloric acid (HCl). In these compounds, one electron from atoms is shared equally between the atoms to form a bond. While ionic bonds are formed between two atoms and these atoms must be one metal and one non-metal. For example, the bond formed between a sodium atom and chlorine atom, i.e., sodium chloride (HCl). In these compounds, the electrons from the electropositive atom are donated to the electronegative atom, and a bond is formed.
The difference in the properties is covalent compounds have lower melting and boiling points as compared to ionic compounds. The solubility of covalent compounds is much lower than the solubility of ionic compounds. Covalent compounds are weak conductors of heat and electricity as compared to ionic compounds.

Note:
The strength of ionic bonds is stronger than the covalent bonds because when the ionic bonds break there is the formation of ions that attract each other to again form the bond, but there is no formation of ions in covalent compounds.