3.6.4—That, in general, ionic, covalent and metallic

Intramolecular forces hold a particle together; intermolecular forces act between neighbouring molecules. Ionic bonding is attraction between oppositely charged ions in a lattice, covalent bonding holds shared electron pairs between atoms, and metallic bonding is attraction between positive metal ions and delocalised electrons.

Intermolecular forces include instantaneous dipole–induced dipole attraction, permanent dipole–permanent dipole attraction and hydrogen bonding as a special permanent-dipole case. These forces change how molecular entities attract one another but do not replace the covalent bonds within each molecule.

In general, the forces holding particles together within a substance are stronger than the attractions between molecules. The source-supported comparison places covalent bonding at the strong end and instantaneous dipole–induced dipole attraction at the weak end; use this as a general boundary, not as a universal numerical ranking for every substance.

When explaining a property or a change of state, first identify whether the relevant attraction is within a particle or between particles. Do not describe an intermolecular force as ionic, covalent or metallic bonding, and do not imply that breaking intermolecular attractions breaks the covalent molecule itself.