Angelica Rodriguez 11/9/12 Period 4 Ionic vs.

. Covalent Bonding Lab Investigation Introduction: Most atoms are never found by themselves; instead they are bonded to other atoms in ionic or covalent bonds. This is because atoms want to be stable. To be stable, atoms need to have a full valence shell and is only possible with the help of other atoms. In ionic bonds, valence electrons are transferred from metals to nonmetals. Since metals have low ionization energy, they lose electrons and become cations. Nonmetals have a high electronegativity so they gain electrons and become anions. This occurs so that the metal cation and the nonmetal anion have a full valence shell each. The crystal lattice that is produced is made up of these cations and anions that are held together by electrostatic attraction. The electrostatic attraction that holds ionic compounds together is strong that is why they have high melting points and are slower to melt. When dissolved in water, the ionic crystal dissociates into cations and anions, which causes the ionic compounds to conduct electricity. Furthermore, in covalent bonds, electrons are shared between two nonmetals so that each has a full octet. Electrons are shared because nonmetals have a high electronegativity and dont lose or gain electrons. Indeed, because nonmetals have high electronegativities, their electrons arent able to move and thus can not conduct electricity. The electrostatic attraction between the molecules of covalent compounds is weak that is why they have low melting points and can melt quicker.

Hypotheses: Table 1: The expected results of testing five different chemicals Chemical Hypothesis 1: Hypothesis 2: High Hypothesis 3: Will Formula Ionic or or Low Melting it conduct Covalent? Points? electricity? Distilled (pure) H2O Covalent Low No Water Sodium chloride NaCl Ionic High Yes when dissolved in water Sucrose (sugar) C12H22O11 Covalent Low No Dextrose C6H12O6 Covalent Low No Sodium sulfate NaSO4 Ionic High Yes when dissolved in water Compounds to be Tested Procedures: Part I. Melting Point and Strength of Bonds 1. Aluminum foil was shaped into a square to fit on the ring stand. A small sample of each of the four different compounds was placed separately on the aluminum foil square. 2. The aluminum foil square was carefully placed on the ring stand and heated with the Bunsen burner for 1-2 minutes. 3. Detailed observations were recorded focusing more on the order in which the samples started to melt first. 4. The square foil was left to cool down and then thrown away. Part II. Electrical Conductivity 1. Small amounts of the four different compounds were placed in different wells of the well plate. 2. The dry compounds were tested for conductivity with a conductivity tester and observations were recorded. 3. Enough drops of distilled water were added to the wells to dissolve the different compounds.

4. One of the dissolved compounds was tested with a conductivity tester and observations were recorded. The conductivity tester was washed with distilled water after every use. 5. Step four was repeated for all the other dissolved compounds.

Results: Name/Chemical Formula: Table 2: The results of testing five different chemicals PART I: Melting PART II: FINAL Point (1-5; High, Conducted CONCLUSION: Ionic Med. or Low?) Electricity? or Covalent Bonds? (Yes/No) Dry Dissolved 1 5 3 2 4 N/A No No No No No Yes No No Yes Covalent Ionic Covalent Covalent Ionic

1. Distilled (pure) Water/H2O 2. Sodium Chloride/NaCl 3. Sucrose (sugar)/C12H22O11 4. Dextrose/C6H12O6 5. Sodium sulfate/NaSO4 Conclusion:

After this laboratory, it was concluded that sodium chloride and sodium sulfate were ionic compounds, while distilled water, sucrose, and dextrose were covalent compounds. All of the initial hypotheses were correct. Also, the purpose of this experiment was met. Students were able to test which of the five different chemicals used had low or high melting points and which ones conducted electricity. From the results, the ionic compounds were those that conducted electricity in water and had high melting points (strong bonds). The covalent compounds were those that did not conduct electricity in a dry or dissolved state and had low melting points (weak bonds). Ionic bonds are formed from metal cations and nonmetal anions so when they dissolve in water, electricity (moving charge) can flow through the solution. Additionally, ionic bonds are very strong since positively charged cations and negatively charged anions are being held together by electrostatic attraction in a crystal lattice. The electrostatic attraction between the ions in ionic bonds is strong thats why they have high melting points and are slower to melt. Covalent bonds are formed between nonmetals. Nonmetals have high electronegativities and because their electrons arent able to move, they can not conduct electricity. The electrostatic 3

attraction between the molecules of covalent compounds is weak that is why they have low melting points and can melt faster.