Spencer Jorgensen, Troy Brubaker,

Casey Peterson, Abby Kosisko, & Amanda Vargas

Doc
rd
3 Period
February 18th, 2011

To Share or Not to Share – IONIC VS. COVALENT BONDING LAB

Purpose: To determine different properties of ionic and covalent compounds, such as

physical state, solubility in water, solubility in ethanol, conductivity, evaporation rate,
and melting point.

Hypothesis: If the test substance potassium iodide is soluble in water, then it is a covalent
bond.

Theory: Melting point is the temperature at which the solid becomes a liquid due to
atmospheric pressure. Conductivity is the measure of the ease at which an electric charge
or heat can pass through a material. A conductor is a material which gives very little
resistance to the flow of electricity or a thermal current. Materials are classified as metals,
semiconductors, and insulators. Solubility is a result of any interaction between polar
molecules and the ions which make it up a crystal. This experiment also involves
electrolytes. Electrolytes are substances that when dissolved in a suitable solvent or when
fused become ionic conductors. The opposites are nonelectrolytes, substances that do not
readily ionize when dissolved or melted and are poor conductors of electricity. An ionic
bond is a chemical bond formed between oppositely charged species because of their
mutual electrostatic attraction. A covalent bond is a chemical bond formed between
atoms by the sharing of electrons. There is also the difference between tap water and
distilled water. Tap water includes minerals and other salts, while distilled water is
purified with no materials. This is the reason why distilled water cannot conduct
electricity because electricity transfers through the electrolytes which are the minerals
and salts found in tap water. Covalent bonds have a definite and predictable shape and
have low melting and boiling points. They can be easily broken into its primary structure
as the atoms are close by to share the electrons. These are mostly gaseous and even a
slight negative or positive charge at opposite ends of a covalent bond gives them
molecular polarity. Ionic bonds normally form crystalline atoms and have higher melting
points and boiling points compared to covalent compounds. These conduct electricity in
molten or solution state and they are extremely polar bonds. Most of them are soluble in
water but insoluble in non-polar solvents. They require much more energy than covalent
bond to break the bond between them.

Materials:
Sodium Bromide
Sodium Chloride
Paraffin
Sucrose
Potassium Iodide
Camphor
Ethanol
Water
Hot Plate
Aluminum Foil
Spot Plates
Conductivity Tester

Procedure:
Part A. Physical State
1. Record if the substance is a solid, liquid, or gas, as well as its physical
appearance.
Part B. Solubility in water
2. Put a very small sample of the 6 substances in a spot plate
3. Add 10 drops of water to each
4. Stir with a stirring rod and record how quickly the compounds dissolve in water.
The faster the compound dissolves in water, the higher its solubility.
5. Record your results in your data table. Classify the solubility in water as high,
medium, or low.
Part C. Solubility in ethanol
6. Repeat Part B, using 10 drops of ethanol instead of water.
Part D. Conductivity
7. In the spot plates for Part B above, test all of the substances’ conductivity in
water.
8. Record your results in your data table. Classify the conductivity as high, medium,
or low.
Part E. Melting Point
9. Place a small amount of each substance onto a piece of aluminum foil, recording
which compound is which.
10. Heat the sample over a hot plate and record the time required to melt the
compound. Assume the longer the melting time, the higher the melting point.
Classify the melting point as high, medium, or low.

Hazards: Wear goggles while chemicals are in use so they do not splash into eyes.
Ethanol is a flammable liquid, be cautious. Also, wash hands after handling the test
substances.

Data and Observations:

Name of Physical Solubility Solubility Conductivity Melting ∆χ value

Substance State / in Water in Point
Appearance Ethanol
Sodium Solid / white Yes No High High 1.63
Bromide powdery Polar
crystals Covalent
Paraffin Solid / No No None Low 0.30
chunks of Non-
crystals, Polar
waxy Covalent
Camphor Solid / small No Yes None Low Covalent
crystals
Sucrose Solid / white Yes No None Low Covalent
crystals
Potassium Solid / small Yes No High High 1.3
Iodide crystals Polar
Covalent
Sodium Solid / white Yes No High High 1.82
Chloride crystalline Ionic
Calculations:
∆χ = | χ1 – χ2|

Electro-negativity = |EN of Element 1 – EN of Element 2|

∆χ (Sodium Bromide) = |1.01 – 2.74|

∆χ = 1.63

When ∆χ <= 0.4, the bond is non-polar covalent

When 0.4 < ∆χ < 1.7, the bond is polar covalent
When 1.7 < ∆χ, the bond is ionic.

The bond is POLAR COVALENT.

Questions:
1. What are some common properties of ionic compounds?
a. They have high melting points.
b. They are hard and brittle to the touch.
c. They are electrolytes (they conduct electricity when molten and when dissolved in
water.
d. Composed of a strongly metallic element and a strongly nonmetallic element.
2. What are some common properties of covalent compounds?
a. They are formed when two atoms share a pair of electrons.
b. Compared to ionic and metallic compounds, covalent compounds all have
relatively low melting and boiling points.
c. Solubility in water depends upon the polarity of the molecule.
d. Molecules that are more polar tend to be more soluble in water.
3. What compounds do you think were ionic and why?
I think the sodium bromide, the potassium iodide, and the sodium chloride test
samples are ionic compounds because they all have really high melting points and are
composed of one metallic element and one nonmetallic element.
4. What compounds do you think were covalent and why?
 I think the Paraffin, the sucrose, and the camphor test samples are covalent
compounds because they all have relatively low melting points and have no
conductivity to electricity from the compounds not having any electrolytes.
5. What compounds were difficult to put into categories? Why were they difficult to
put into categories?
I think the sucrose was hard to fit into a category because it was a more polar
molecule and that could be mistaken for an ionic compound instead of being
categorized as a covalent compound.
6. Sugar is a covalent compound, not an ionic compound! Based upon your results
today and your experience with sugar, which of the properties you tested is the BEST
predictor of bind type – meaning, it would tell you right away what type of bond you
have?
I think the conductivity of electricity property is the best predictor of bond type
because right away, it establishes whether or not the compound has electrolytes or
not, which are apart of ionic compounds. So if there is a current throughout the water
and the compound, then they are ionic compounds.

Conclusion: When attempting to find the identity of the compounds as either ionic or
covalent, I found that my hypothesis was proved true. If potassium iodide is soluble in
water, has conductivity in electricity, and a high melting point, then it is a polar covalent
compound, not an ionic compound. It was proved in the experiment the identity of the
other five samples as well as the one previously discussed. The compounds potassium
iodide and sodium bromide are all covalent compounds due to there high melting points,
strong conductivity in water, and solubility in water. The times for the samples melting
points were recorded. For sodium chloride, 1 minute 40 seconds before the compound
started to melt and the other compounds sodium bromide and potassium iodide were both
+2 minutes because in the time allotted, the compounds had not started to melt. The
compounds Paraffin, sucrose, and Camphor were all determined to be covalent
compounds due to there no conductivity in water from their lack of electrolytes and their
relatively low melting points. Paraffin was the fastest to melt at approximately 35
seconds then at about 55 seconds for Camphor and 1 minute 10 seconds for the sucrose to
start as well. Sodium Bromide has an electronegativity of 1.63 which is polar covalent.
Potassium Iodide has an electronegativity of 1.30 which is also polar covalent. Sodium
Chloride has an electronegativity of 1.82 which is an ionic compound. According to these
results, the test samples with only two elements are the only ones testable for
electronegativity, and that there is only one true ionic compound, Sodium Chloride.
There were at least three source of possible error in this experiment and it included the
distilled water actually being tap water which messes up the conductivity results, the
amount of sample poured in each spot plates keeping the solutions from dissolving
appropriately, and the amount of stirring (human error) used to determine the solubility of
the samples in either ethanol or water. This experiment could be improved by having
more sophisticated materials to lead to more accurate results and conclusions. This
experiment raised my question of if sugar is a covalent compound, then are all sugars and
compounds involving sugar deemed covalent as well? From this experiment, I learned the
difference between covalent and ionic bonds and I now know how to determine the
difference between them if asked to again.