T.A.

MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SCHOOL OF ARTS, SCIENCES AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS
CHEMISTRY

EXPERIMENT # ____

TITLE: Ionic and Covalent Compounds.

AIM: To investigate some of the differences between ionic and covalent compounds.

APPARATUS/MATERIALS: test tube rack with stoppered test tubes, 100mL beaker, spatula,
test tube holder, Bunsen burner, 50mL beakers, test tube brush, 10mL measuring cylinder,
conductivity meter,
Pure ethanol, solid samples A – hexadecan-1-ol, B – sodium chloride,
C – benzoic acid, D – copper (II) sulphate, E – sucrose and F- iron (II) sulphate.

PROCEDURE:
1. The solubility of each substance in water was tested by filling the round
part of a test tube (the bottom) with each substance, 10ml of distilled
water was added; it was stoppered and shaken to see if it dissolved.
Each solution/mixture was carefully labelled and was saved for further
testing in step 2.
2. Each solution/mixture was placed in a clean, dry beaker each time, and
the electrodes of the conductivity meter were inserted into each to
determine whether the solution/mixture conducted electricity or not.
3. Steps 1 and 2 were repeated using 5ml of alcohol instead of 10ml of
distilled water as the solvent.
4. A small amount of each of the solids was heated in a Pyrex test tube to
find out whether the solid had a high or low melting point. Each solid was
heated for no more than 2 minutes.

RESULTS:
TABLE SHOWING THE MELTING POINTS, SOLUBILITY IN WATER & ALCOHOL AND
CONDUCTIVITY IN WATER & ALCOHOL OF DIFFERENT SOLIDS
 A B C D E F

low high low high low low

Melting point

Insol. sol. Insol. Sol. Sol. Sol.

Solubility in
water
NO YES NO YES NO YES
Conductivity
in water
Sol. Insol. Sol. Insol. Sol. Insol.
Solubility in
alcohol
NO NO NO NO NO NO
Conductivity
in alcohol

QUESTIONS:
1. Which of the compounds are (a) ionic and (b) covalent?
2. Which compounds were soluble in water: ionic or covalent?
3. Which compounds were soluble in the organic solvent (alcohol): ionic or
covalent?
The covalent compounds were soluble in alcohol (why?)
4. List two characteristics of ionic and covalent compounds you have
observed.

DISCUSSION:
Compounds can be distinguished between ionic and covalent substances based on a variety of
properties, including solubility in polar and non-polar solvents, electrical conductivity and melting
points. Ionic compounds are compounds consisting of ions (metal cations and non-metal anions)
joined together by ionic bonds. In this experiment, the ionic compounds were sodium chloride,
copper (II) sulphate and iron (II) sulphate. On the other hand, covalent compounds are
compounds consisting of molecules joined together by covalent bonds. Covalent bonds form
between non-metals. In this experiment, the covalent compounds were hexadecan-1-ol, benzoic
acid and sucrose.

Solubility is the ability of a solute to dissolve in a solvent. The solvents used were water and
alcohol (ethanol). In water, the ionic compounds as well as sucrose were soluble. When ionic
compounds interact with water, dissociation occurs. The compound separates into its ions and
forms ion-dipole bonds with water. This reduces the electrostatic forces between the ions making
them soluble in water. Sucrose is a polar molecule due to the O-
H bond, between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This bond provides the hydrogen with a
slight positive charge and the oxygen with a slight negative charge. Sucrose dissolves in water
because the polar water molecules attract in the positive and negative regions of the polar
sucrose molecules.

In ethanol, only the covalent compounds were soluble. Ethanol contains a polar hydroxyl group(-
OH) and a non-polar ethyl group (C2H5). The hydroxyl group allows ethanol to form hydrogen
bonds with other polar compounds like sugar, dissolving them. On the other hand, the ethyl group
allows ethanol to dissolve other non-polar compounds which a lot of covalent compounds are.
Furthermore, ethanol contains similar intermolecular forces to covalent compounds, making it an
effective solvent for covalent compounds.

Conductivity is the ability of a material or solution to carry an electric current. The ionic
compounds conducted electricity in water while the covalent compounds did not. When ionic
compounds are in an aqueous state (dissolved in water), the ions are mobile and free to conduct
electricity. Covalent compounds do not contain ions therefore are unable to conduct electricity.
Additionally, none of the compounds conducted electricity in ethanol because the compounds
cannot dissociate into ions, therefore there are no free-charged particles to conduct electricity.

The temperature at which a substance converts from a solid to a liquid state is called its melting
point. The ionic compounds had high melting points, except iron ii sulphate while the covalent
compounds had low melting points. In ionic compounds, the forces of attraction between cations
and anions are extremely strong. These bonds therefore require a lot of energy to break so ionic
compounds have high melting points. In the case of iron ii sulphate, it exists as a hydrated
compound with a water of crystallisation. The water destabilises the ionic bonds in the lattice,
making it thermal weak. Furthermore, the sulphate ion is a large polyatomic ion, which lowers the
lattice energy, making the structure easy to decompose with heat. Iron ii sulphate decomposes
into iron iii oxide, Sulphur dioxide and Sulphur trioxide when heated. This occurs at a low
temperature.

In covalent compounds, weak intermolecular forces hold them together. As these forces are
weak, little energy is needed to break them, so covalent compounds have low melting points.

CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, ionic and covalent compounds can be differentiated by various properties. Ionic
compounds generally have high melting points, are soluble in water, and conduct electricity in
water, while covalent compounds generally have low melting points, are soluble in alcohol, and
do not conduct electricity in water or alcohol.

SOURCES OF ERROR:
 Test tube containing small amounts of water when performing ethanol solubility test
 The concentration of the solutes being too low to conduct electricity

RECOMMENDATIONS:
 Buy more ethanol to rinse the test tubes when performing ethanol solubility test
 Add a greater mass of each solid to the test tube (5g)