Claudia Nunez 11/08/12 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 each atom has the tendency to need to be stable by achieving a full shell. Transferring valence electrons from a metal to a nonmetal forms an ionic bond. This creates a cation metal, making an atom positive with the loss of electrons, and a nonmetal anion by gaining electrons. The bond is held by the electromagnetic force of the cation and anion. In a covalent bond, however, the electrons are shared between two nonmetals. Hypotheses: Table 1: The expected results of testing five different chemicals Hypothesis 2: Hypothesis 3: Will Compounds to be Chemical Formula Hypothesis 1: Tested Ionic or Covalent HIgh or Low it conduct melting Point? electricity? Distilled(pure) H2O Covalent low No water Sodium Chloride NaCl Ionic high When dissolved Sucrose (sugar) Dextrose Sodium Sulfate C12H22O11 C6H12O6 NaSO4 Covalent Covalent Ionic low low high No No When dissolved

Procedures: Part I. Melting Point and Strength of Bonds 1. Aluminum foil was folded into a square. Small samples of each compound were placed carefully on the square foil. 2. The foil square was carefully placed on the ring stand and the Bunsen burner was used to heat the foil for no longer than 1-2 minutes. 3. Detailed observations were recorded while the order in which the samples melted were kept track of.

4. The square foil was left to cool then it was thrown away. Part II. Electrical Conductivity 1. Each compound was placed in different wells of a well plate. 2. The dry compound was tested for conductivity with the tester. The observations were recorded. 3. Enough drops of distilled water were added to the well to dissolve the compound. 4. The solution was tested for conductivity with the tester and the observations were recorded. 5. The steps were repeated for each sample. Results: Name/ Chemical Formula: Part I: Melting point (1-5; High, Med. or Low?) Part II: CONDUCTED Electricity? (Yes/ NO) Dry Dissolved N/A No No No No N/A Yes No No Yes Final Conclusion: Ionic or covalent?

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

1= Lowest (already melted) 5 3 2 4

Covalent Ionic Covalent Covalent Ionic

Conclusion: After this laboratory, it was concluded that sodium chloride and sodium sulfate were ionic compounds, while sucrose, dextrose, and the distilled water were covalent compounds. All of the initial hypotheses were correct except the melting points for the compounds other than distilled water. My hypotheses were incorrect because the ionic compounds had a very high melting point and the covalent compounds had low melting points. 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 and had had low melting points. Ionic bonds are found from metal cations(+) and nonmetal anions(-). When they dissolve in water, electricity can flow through the solution. Additionally, ionic bonds are very strong since they are held together by electromagnetic force. The metal cations are highly attracted to non metal anions making the bond stronger. the covalent bonds, however, are formed by two nonmetals sharing electrons since nonmetals have high electronegativity, they tend to gain electrons instead of losing them, therefore, electrons are shared.