Lab 12: Chemical Bonding Lab

BACKGROUND
Chemical compounds are combinations of atoms held together by chemical bonds. These chemical bonds
are of two basic types—ionic and covalent. Ionic bonds result when one or more electrons from one atom
or group of atoms is transferred to another atom. Positive and negative ions are created through the
transfer. In covalent compounds no electrons are transferred; instead electrons are shared by the bonded
atoms.

The physical properties of a substance, such as melting point, solubility, and conductivity, can be used to
predict the type of bond that binds the atoms of the compound. In this experiment, you will conduct tests
on the properties and compile data enabling you to classify compounds as ionic or covalent.

OBJECTIVES
Compare the melting points of various compounds.
Determine the solubilities of solid compounds in water and in ethanol.
Determine the conductivity of water solutions of the soluble solids.
Classify the compounds into groups of ionic and covalent compounds.
Summarize the properties of ionic and covalent substance.

SAFETY!!!
Always wear safety goggles to protect your eyes... If you get a chemical in your eyes,
immediately flush the chemical out at the eyewash station while calling to your teacher. Know
the location of the emergency lab shower and eyewash station and the procedures for using
them.
Do not touch any chemicals. If you get a chemical on your skin or clothing, wash the chemical off
at the sink while calling to your teacher. Make sure you carefully read the labels and follow the
precautions on all containers of chemicals that you use. If there are no precautions stated on the
label, ask your teacher what precautions to follow. Do not taste any chemicals or items used in the
laboratory. Never return leftovers to their original container; take only small amounts to avoid
wasting supplies.
Do not heat glassware that is broken, chipped, or cracked. Use tongs or a hot mitt to handle
heated glassware and other equipment because hot glassware does not always look hot. When
using a flame, confine long hair and loose clothing. If your clothing catches on fire, WALK to
the emergency lab shower and use it to put out the fire.
MATERIALS
 ethanol
 Bunsen burner
 deionized water (in bottles)
 conductivity tester
 NaCl
 iron ring
 Sucrose (C12H22O11)
 ring stand
 Unknown A
 aluminum foil
square  Unknown B
 test tubes (6)  Unknown C
 small beakers (3)  Unknown D

1
 Figure 1
Procedures

Part I: Melting Point

1. Place a folded square of aluminum foil on an iron ring attached to a ring
stand. Position the ring so that it is just above the tip of a Bunsen burner
flame, as shown in Figure 1. Light the burner for a moment to check that
you have the correct height.
2. Place a small amount of each compound in separate locations on the
square of aluminum foil. Do not allow the samples of crystals to touch.
Draw and label a diagram that shows the position of each compound.
3. For this experiment, it is not necessary to have exact values for the melting point. The foil will
continue to get hotter as it is heated, so the order of melting will give relative melting points. Light
the burner and observe. Note the substance that melts first by writing a 1 in your data table.
Record the order in which the substances melt (2,3,4…)
4. After 2 min, record a “DNM” for each substance that did not melt.

Note: If the substance melts easily, it has a low melting point. If the
substance does not melt easily, it has a high melting point.

Part II: Solubility

A. Dissolves in Water
1. Fill a test tube three-fourths full with water.
2. Place a match-head sized sample of one compound into the test tube.
3. Cap test tube and invert it slowly for 45 - 60 seconds and observe.
4. Record your data as either dissolves or dose not dissolve in water.
5. Clean out your test tube with water and a test tube brush.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 with remaining substances.

B. Dissolves in Ethanol
Repeat steps 1 – 6 above, but substitute ethanol for the water. Be sure that the test tube is
CLEAN and DRY for each substance before adding the ethanol.

Part III: Conductivity

1. Prepare a solution for each compound by adding 20 mL of deionized water to a small scoop (the size
of 2 peas) of the compound in a labeled beaker and stir with glass stirring rod.
2. CAUTION: Exposed wires on conductivity tester must be cleaned with deionized water before
performing next conductivity test. Rinse with deionized water before performing test.
3. Quickly touch the 2 wires together, the light bulb should light, indicating that the tester is working.
4. Hold the battery end of the tester and dip exposed ends of red and black wire into each beaker filled
with solution. Do not touch sides of beaker. Wires should be approximately 2 cm apart and should not
touch. If the light goes on than the solution is conducting electricity. If the light stays dark than the
solution is not conducting electricity.
5. If at first none of the solutions are conducting electricity then add another small scoop of the
compound to the solution.

Results from Parts 1-3 are recorded in the Data Table below.
DATA TABLE

Name/ Chemical PART I: PART II: PART III: FINAL

Formula: Melting Point Solubility Conducted CONCLUSION:
(1-5; High, Med. Electricity? Ionic or Covalent
or Low?) Water Dry Dissolved Bonds?
(at room temp.)
Distilled Water/ 1 N/A N/A No
H20
Sodium Chloride/ 5 Yes No Yes
NaCl
Sucrose/ 3 Slightly No No
C12H22O11
Dextrose/ 2 Even less than No No
C6H12O6 sucrose
Sodium Sulfate/ 4 Yes No Yes
Na2SO4

PRELAB – Complete the following questions before beginning the lab.

1. Fill in the table below by using what you know about covalent and ionic compounds.

Compounds Chemical Hypothesis 1: Hypothesis 2: Hypothesis 3: Hypothesis 4:

to be Tested Formula Ionic or High or Low Will it conduct Dissolves in
Covalent? Melting Point? electricity? Water?

Distilled Water H2O N/A

Sodium NaCl
Chloride
Sucrose C12H22O11
Dextrose C6H12O6
Sodium Sulfate NaSO4

2. Define the Following Terms:

a. Ionic Bond

b. Covalent Bond

c. Solubility

d. Conductivity

3. Ionic compounds are generally made up of what kind of elements?

 4. Covalent compounds are generally made up of what kind of elements?

5. Classify the properties to be tested (description, melting point, solubility, and electrical
conductivity) as chemical or physical properties.

POSTLAB - Answer in complete sentences where appropriate.

1. Group the substances in the table above into two groups according to their properties.

2. List the general properties of each group.

3. Based on the properties of each compound, label each substance as being either an ionic or
covalent compound.

4. Write a statement to summarize the properties of ionic compounds and another statement to
summarize the properties of covalent compounds.

5. What does the melting point of a substance have to do with bonding? Be complete in your answer.

6. What does the solubility of a substance have to do with bonding? Be specific in your answer.

7. What does the conductivity of a substance have to do with bonding? Be specific in your answer.

8. Sodium chloride and lithium chloride are typical ionic compounds, while sugar represents a typical
nonionic compound. In general, how would these two types of compounds compare in their melting
points?

9. What must be true of a solution if the solution conducts electricity? How can the conductivity of a
solution be increased?
10. Explain why tap water will conduct electricity but distilled water will not.

11. Give a plausible explanation for why sucrose is slightly more soluble in water than is dextrose.

12. The human body is mainly composed of nonionic compounds, such as water, carbohydrates, lipids,
and proteins which do not conduct electricity. With this in mind, explain why you could electrocute
yourself if you took a bath with your hair dryer, even if you took a bath is perfectly pure distilled water.
In oither words, why are people such good conductors of electricity?

13. Based on the results from the solubility tests, explain what is meant by “like dissolves like”. (Use
words like polar, non-polar, water, and ethanol in your answer below)

14. What is the relationship between electronegativity and bond type? Put another way, how could
you predict whether a compound would be ionic or covalent if given a list of the elements’
electronegativities?

15. List the physical properties you would predict the following compounds to have:
 methane - CH4

 acetic acid - HC2H3O2

 copper(II) sulfate - CuSO4

16. Using your data, which physical property best separates the compounds into ionic or covalent
(molecular)? Give reasons for your answer.

17. Using your data, which physical property is least helpful in separating the compounds into ionic or
molecular? Give reasons for your answer.
References
1. Retrieved on 7/20/2020 from: https://www.scribd.com/document/117335965/Larkin-Lab-Report
2. Retrieved on 7/20/2020 from: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~justinpb/Files/inquirylabteacher.pdf