Marlyn 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 the atoms are not stable. Atoms electrons are not held with great force to the nucleus and, therefore, are easily lost to other atoms in ionic bonding or shared with other atoms in covalent bonding. Combining the atoms in bondings will make the atoms stable and satisfied with a full octet. Ionic bonds are made up of metals and non-metals and conduct electricity when dissolved in water, since the electrons are in motion in the metal part of the bond. The valence electrons in ionic bonds are transferred, causing them to lose electrons to other atoms to give each atom a full octet. Covalent compounds are two non-metals bonded together, the bonds share valence electrons in order for them to have a full shell as well. Covalent compounds do not conduct electricity since its electrons are not in motion. The purpose of this lab is to find which compounds form ionic or covalent bonds. Hypotheses: Table 1: The expected results of testing five different chemicals Chemical Hypothesis 1: Hypothesis 2: High Hypothesis 3: Will Compounds to Formula it conduct be Tested Ionic or or Low melting Covalent? point? electricity? Distilled (pure) H2 O Covalent Low No water Sodium NaCl Ionic High Yes, when Chloride dissolved in water Sucrose (sugar) C12H22O11 Covalent Low No Dextrose C6H12O6 Covalent Low No Sodium Sulfate NaSO4 Ionic Medium Yes, when dissolved in water

Procedures: Part I. Melting Point and Strength of Bonds 1

1. Aluminum foil was shaped to neatly fit the ring-stand. A small sample of each different compound was placed on the square of the aluminum foil. 2. The tray was placed on the ring stand and heated with the Bunsen burner for no longer than 1-2 minutes. 3. The observations were recorded, in detail, while keeping track of the order in which the samples melted or didnt melt. 4. The foil was washed into the sink after the square of foil cooled off. Part II. Electrical Conductivity 1. Each compound was placed into different wells on a well plate 2. The dry compounds were tested for conductivity with the tester and the observations were recorded. 3. Distilled water was added to the well to dissolve in the compounds. 4. The compounds were tested for conductivity with the tester. The observations were recorded and the tester was washed with distilled water after every use. 5. The steps were repeated for all the samples. Results: Table 2: The final results of testing five different chemicals. Name/Chemical Part I: Melting Point Part II: Conducted FINAL Formula: (1-5; High, Med. or Electricity? (Yes/No) CONCLUSION: Low?) Ionic or Covalent Dry Dissolved Bonds? 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; water, sucrose, and dextrose were covalent compounds. All of the 2 1=lowest: (already melted) 5=High 1=Low 1=Low 3=Medium N/A No No No No No Yes No No Yes Covalent Ionic Covalent Covalent Ionic

initial hypotheses were correct. From the results, the ionic compounds were those that conducted electricity in water and had high melting points (strong bonds). However, the covalent compounds did not conduct electricity in water and had high melting points (weak bond). Covalent compounds are formed from metal cations (+) and non-metal anions (-) so when the compounds dissolve in water, electricity (moving charge) can flow through the solution. Additionally, ionic compounds are very strong since the electrons are held together by electrostatic attraction. Ionic compounds have both a high electronegativity, since the electrons are further away from the nucleus, and low ionization energy, since the electrons are easier to remove because of electronegativity, causing the bonds to be strong and transfer the needed electrons to one another. Ionic compounds conduct electricity only when the compounds are in water because electrons are in motion in half of the ionic bond since ionic bonds are part metal. Covalent bonds do not conduct electricity since the compounds have high electronegativity, the higher the atoms electronegativity is, the farther away the last electron shell is from the nucleus. This causes the bond to be weak and share its electrons with other compounds.