Metallic Bonding and High Melting Points

Steps:

• Recall that metals consist of positive ions in a lattice surrounded by delocalized electrons.
• Identify the bonding type: electrostatic attraction between cations and free electrons forms metallic bonds.
• Understand that strong metallic bonds require significant energy to break, resulting in high melting points.
• Eliminate options describing non-metallic bonding types.

Why D is correct:

• Metallic bonding involves strong electrostatic forces between positive metal ions and delocalized electrons, as defined by the metallic bond model, which demands high energy to disrupt the lattice during melting.

Why the others are wrong:

• A describes covalent bonding in giant molecular structures like diamond, not metals.
• B describes ionic bonding between oppositely charged ions, typical of salts like NaCl.
• C incorrectly attributes bonding to negative ions, which do not exist in pure metals.

Final answer: D