Question

when forming chemical bonds, metal atoms tend to lose electrons, while nonmetal atoms tend to gain or share electrons. these observations are explained by the electronegativities of metals and nonmetals.
electronegativity (en) is a measure of the ability of an atom to attract electrons towards itself in a chemical bond. elements with higher electronegativities pull electrons toward themselves more strongly than elements with lower electronegativities.
this table shows the electronegativities of three nonmetals and three metals.
element character electronegativity
f nonmetal 3.98
o nonmetal 3.44
s nonmetal 2.58
mg metal 1.31
na metal 0.93
fr metal 0.7
based on the table, which of the following statements are true? select all that apply.
atoms with high electronegativities tend to gain or share electrons when forming chemical bonds.
metal atoms pull electrons toward themselves more strongly than nonmetal atoms do.
when sulfur bonds to oxygen, electrons are more strongly attracted to the oxygen atom.
in general, metal atoms have lower electronegativities than nonmetal atoms.

Explanation:

1. High - electronegativity atoms attract electrons strongly, so they gain or share electrons in chemical bonds. This is consistent with the definition of electronegativity.
2. Non - metal atoms have higher electronegativities in the table, meaning they pull electrons more strongly than metal atoms. So the statement about metal atoms pulling electrons more strongly is false.
3. Oxygen has a higher electronegativity (3.44) than sulfur (2.58). So when sulfur bonds to oxygen, electrons are more strongly attracted to the oxygen atom.
4. Looking at the table, metal atoms (Mg, Na, Fr) have lower electronegativities compared to non - metal atoms (F, O, S).

Answer:

Atoms with high electronegativities tend to gain or share electrons when forming chemical bonds.
When sulfur bonds to oxygen, electrons are more strongly attracted to the oxygen atom.
In general, metal atoms have lower electronegativities than nonmetal atoms.