Identifying Substances Based on Bonding Properties Sarah Lawton Introduction: The purpose of this lab was to use our

knowledge of physical properties to identify unknown substances and their bonding properties, specifically ionic and covalent bonding. The octet rule says that every atom wants to have a full outer ring of electrons, or an octet. In order to have a full octet, atoms must receive electrons from another atom or give their electrons to another atom. Metals have a tendency to give electrons and usually form positively charged ions while nonmetals have a tendency to gain electrons, forming negatively charged ions. An ionic bond forms after atoms give or gain electrons to or from other atoms to complete their octets and form positively or negatively charged ions. An ionic bond forms between metals and nonmetals because the opposite charges of the metal and nonmetal ions attract each other to form a neutral bond. Ionic bonds are only conductive when the substance is dissolved in water because electricity cant move between tightly bonded blocks of neutral atoms, but can move through positively and negatively charged ions. Ionic bonds have a high melting point because the attraction between positive and negative ions makes a tight bond that is difficult to break. Finally, ionic bonds form a crystalline structure because all positives have to bond with a negative to satisfy the octet rule, creating a consistent pattern throughout the substance. One type of materials that are held together by ionic bonds is ceramics. Ceramics have high melting points, are soluble and conductive in water, and form crystalline structures and are classified as ionic substances. Covalent bonding is when atoms are attracted to other atoms electrons while still holding on to their own electrons. When the bonds occur, the nucleus from each of the two atoms has an attraction to the electrons, and they share the electron. The electron clouds of the two atoms sharing the electrons overlap, and the atoms share their electrons to complete each others octets. Covalent bonds typically occur between two nonmetals and have a neutral charge because they have the same number of neutrons as electrons. Substances that are bonded covalently tend to have a lower melting point because the molecules dont have opposite charges pulling them together and it is easier to break them apart. Also, substances with covalent bonds are not conductive because electricity cannot be transferred through neutral particles. Finally, because the atoms are neutral, there is no specific pattern in which the atoms must be oriented, causing covalent substances to take irregular shapes. Polymers tend to have lower melting points, arent conductive and form irregular patterns, clearly classifying it as a polymer. Results Table 1 Conductivity, Melting Point, and Structure of Substances A Through F Substance Color of LED in Length to Melt Structure Conductivity Test (Out of 2 minutes) A Bright red 1 minute Crystalline B Bright Red Didnt melt Crystalline C No Color 28 seconds Irregular D Bright Red Didnt melt Crystalline E No Color 30 seconds Irregular

Bright Red

Didnt melt

Crystalline

Discussion This experiment was conducted to show how we use physical properties to help identify bonding properties of unknown substances. In Table 1, it is shown that three tests, related to the conductivity, melting point, and structure of the substances, were performed. When Substance A was dissolved in water it was conductive. Also, Substance A was composed in a very uniform crystalline structure and melted in about a minute, indicating a low melting point. Being conductive when dissolved in water and having a crystalline structure are indicative of a substance having an ionic bond, but having a high melting point is a property of covalent bonds. Despite the variety of results, I believe Substance A is an ionic substance because it would be very irregular for a covalent bond to allow properties such as crystalline formation and conductivity, but not as rare for an ionic bond to have a low melting point. Substance B was conductive when dissolved, did not melt in two minutes, (indicating a high melting point) and formed a crystalline structure. All three of these properties suggest that Substance B had an ionic bond. However, Substance C was not conductive when dissolved, melted in under a minute, and formed irregular shapes. The results of this experiment clearly show that Substance C was had a covalent bond. Substance D was conductive when dissolved in water, didnt melt in two minutes, and had a crystalline structure. The conductivity, high melting point, and structure of the substance clearly show that Substance D has an ionic bond. Substance E was irregular not only in its shape, but also because it was insoluble. Therefore, because it wasnt conductive in water, had an irregular shape, and melted in thirty seconds, indicating a low melting point, Substance E had a covalent bond. Finally, Substance F formed a crystalline structure, was conductive when dissolved in water, and didnt melt indicating a high melting point. These three properties indicate that Substance F had an ionic bond. I am very confident in my results for this lab. When we were finished with the lab, my partner and I realized that we should have measured constant amounts of each substance to dissolve in water. We proceeded to retest each substance for conductivity, dissolving 0.5 grams of each substance into distilled water. These tests produced the same results as the initial round of tests did. However, after we finished retesting each substance for conductivity, we concluded that the amount of substance dissolved in water might effect how conductive each substance is, but wont effect whether or not the substance is conductive. In this lab, we were only testing to see if the substance was conductive, not how conductive it is. I would have been more prepared for this lab if we had studied the difference between crystalline and irregular structures in depth, looking at various examples of each. When we were looking at the substances under a microscope during the lab, I wasnt completely confident in deciding whether or not a substance had a crystalline structure. However, I checked my groups classifications with other groups, and the classifications always matched.