We received our C2 – Structure and Bonding test back last week, and upon getting my test I was disappointed. Despite getting a good grade, I made lots of silly errors which I could have avoided if I had double checked my work. In total, I lost 5 marks, all in section B of the test.

In question 9c, I lot 2 marks because I wrote tetrahedral ionic instead of simple covalent. This wasn’t really a misunderstanding or a misconception, I just didn’t double check my work and I let my pride get the best of me, therefore I lost 2 marks by making that silly error.

In question 11c, I lost one mark because I didn’t specify a legit reason for why diamond is a very hard substance. I think that the reason why diamond is a hard substance is because each carbon atom in diamond forms 4 strong covalent bonds, forming a tetrahedral structure which is very rigid, therefore causing diamond to be very strong. I think the main reason why I lost a mark on this question is because I wasn’t really clear as to why diamond is very strong, even before the test.

In question 12c, I lost one mark because I wasn’t so sure about how the answer was meant to be structured, and I didn’t really know how to answer the question. I think a proper answer to question 12c would be because the electrostatic attraction in Lithium Oxide is greater than that of Lithium Chloride, therefore Lithium Oxide needs more energy to break the electrostatic attraction.

In question 13c, I lost one mark because I didn’t use the correct terminology. I feel like if I used the words, ‘destroy the intermolecular forces’, then I would’ve gotten the mark.

Overall, I could have avoided all of these silly mistakes and gotten better marks if I double checked my work.

Bonus: Chemical bonds are the INTRAmolecular forces, the forces within a molecule. It is the forces that bond to atoms together, forming a new compound. INTERmolecular forces are the forces holding molecules together, changing the state of matter that the compound is in.