Claudia Silva 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 are unstable and need to bond to become stable by achieving an octet, or a full outer electron shell. Metals and non-metals tend to bond ionically. Metals have low ionization energy so they transfer valence electrons to non-metals, which have a high electronegativity. Metals become positive ions, called cations, because they lost electrons and non-metals become negative ions, called anions, because they gained electrons. Electrostatic attraction causes the cations and anions to attract and form a crystal lattice that can conduct electricity when dissociated in water. Crystal lattices have a strong bond because the cations and ions attract. The strong bond causes the crystal to have a high melting point. On the other hand, non-metals form a covalent bond because they have a high electronegativity. Non- metals share valence electrons to form an octet and become molecules, which cannot conduct electricity. The bond between the non-metals is weak, therefore the molecules have a low melting point. Hypotheses: Table 1: The Expected Results of Testing Five Different Chemicals Compound to Chemical Hypothesis 1 : Hypothesis 2: High Hypothesis 3: Will be Tested Formula Ionic or or Low Melting it conduct Covalent Point? electricity? Distilled (pure) H2O Covalent Low No Water Sodium chloride NaCl Ionic High Yes Sucrose (sugar) C12H22O11 Covalent Low No Dextrose C6H12O6 Covalent Low No Sodium sulfate Ionic High Yes NaSO4

Procedures: Part I. Melting Point and Strength of Bonds 1. The aluminum foil was folded into a square. Then a small sample of the four compounds was placed on the square without mixing them.

Claudia Silva Period 4 2. The foil was placed on the ring stand over the Bunsen burner. Subsequently, the foil was heat it for no more than 2 minutes. 3. The order in which the compounds melted was recorded. Furthermore, from the compounds melting point it was determined which compounds have strong bonds and which have weak bonds. 4. The foil was cooled and washed. Part II. Electrical Conductivity 1. A small amount of each compound was placed in separate wells of a well plate. 2. The dry compound was tested for electrical conductivity using the tester. 3. Drops of distilled water were added to the compound on the well plate until the compound dissolved. 4. The solution was tested for electrical conductivity using the tester. After every use the tester was washed with distilled water. 5. The steps were repeated for every sample compound.

Results: Table 2: Melting Point and Conductivity of the 5 Compounds Part I: Melting Part II: Conducted Final Conclusion: Point (1--- 5; High, Electricity? (Yes/No) Ionic or Covalent Name/Chemical Med. or Low?) Bonds? Formula: Dry Dissolved 1. Distilled (pure) 1= lowest: (already N/A No Covalent Water/ H2O melted) 2.Sodium Chloride/ NaCl 3. Sucrose (sugar)/ C12H22O11 4. Dextrose/ C6H12O6 5. Sodium sulfate/ NaSO4 5 3 2 4 No No No No Yes No No Yes Ionic Covalent Covalent Ionic

Claudia Silva Period 4 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. From the results, the ionic compounds were those that conducted electricity in water and had high melting points (strong bonds). Ionic bonds are formed from metal cations (+) and non-metal anions (-), so when they dissolve in water, electricity (moving charge) can flow through the solution. Additionally, ionic bonds are very strong since the electrostatic attraction makes the cations and anions attract to each other. The cations and anions are attracted so they form a pattern called a crystal lattice. The strong bond between the cations and anions cause the melting point to be high because a lot of energy is needed to separate the positive and negative ions. On the other hand, covalent bonds do not conduct electricity because its molecules are neutral. Furthermore, covalent bonds are very weak since the electrons are simply shared in the bond. Non-metals have high electronegativity, therefore if non-metals want to bond they have to share electrons. The molecule is held together because the positive nucleus of each atom is attracted to the negative electrons shared between them. The attraction is not as strong as the one between cations and anions, so the molecules tend to break away easily and that results in a low melting point.