What kind of bond is formed when one or more electrons are transferred from one atom to another?

The correct answer is ionic bond, which is formed through the transfer of one or more electrons from one atom to another. This process typically occurs between metals and nonmetals. In ionic bonding, the metal atom, which has a relatively low ionization energy, donates one or more electrons to become a positively charged ion (cation). Meanwhile, the nonmetal atom, which has a high electron affinity, accepts these electrons to become a negatively charged ion (anion). The electrostatic attraction between these oppositely charged ions creates a strong ionic bond.

This type of bonding is crucial in the formation of ionic compounds, where the resulting structure typically leads to a crystalline lattice. This lattice maximizes the attractive forces between the cations and anions, resulting in compounds with high melting and boiling points.

In contrast, other types of bonds, such as covalent bonds, involve the sharing of electron pairs between atoms rather than transferring them. Metallic bonds are characterized by a "sea of electrons" that are shared among a lattice of metal cations. Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions between polar molecules and do not involve the transfer or sharing of electrons in the way ionic bonds do. Understanding these distinctions is key to grasping the fundamentals of chemical bonding and the properties