Experiment 3

Chemical Compounds and Their Physical Properties

Pre-lab Exercise on Blackboard

After reading through this experiment, log on to your Blackboard account and complete the pre-lab
assignment for this experiment. The closing date for the assignment can be found on Blackboard. No
extensions will be given to this deadline. The pre-lab assignment is worth 3 points.

Laboratory Report Requirements

The report for this experiment should include the introduction, completed data pages and discussion. In
the discussion explain why compounds have been categorized as ionic, polar molecular, or non-polar
molecular. Answer all post-lab questions.

Introduction

The majority of chemical compounds can be broadly categorized as being either ionic compounds or
molecular compounds. Solid ionic compounds are composed of cations (positive ions) and anions
(negative ions) which are held together in a three dimensional arrangement by the electrostatic
attractions between the opposite charges. Molecular compounds consist of molecules, which are definite
and distinct, electrically neutral groups of atoms held together by covalent bonds (A covalent bond is
one in which electrons are shared between atoms) A molecule is the smallest particle of a compound that
possesses the chemical properties of that compound. Molecular compounds display extensive
differences from ionic compounds in their physical properties.

Melting Points

Ionic compounds exist as solids at room temperature, and can only be converted to liquids by raising the
temperature. The temperature at which a solid is converted to a liquid is called its melting point. The
melting points of ionic compounds are generally rather high, ranging from a few hundred degrees
Celsius to over 2500o C

Molecular compounds may be solid, liquid or gaseous at room temperature. This means that the melting
points of molecular compounds are generally rather low, and below room temperature for those
compounds which exist as liquids or gases. Molecular compounds that exist as solids generally have
melting points below 300oC, although there are some notable exceptions.

Solubility

Solubility describes the ability of one medium (a solvent) to dissolve another (a solute). Water is a good
solvent for many ionic compounds and some molecular compounds. Ionic compounds are not soluble in
hydrocarbon solvents, such as hexane, or benzene (i.e. compounds consisting only of carbon and

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hydrogen atoms). These hydrocarbon solvents will dissolve some molecular compounds, especially
those of a particular type referred to as non-polar compounds. Other organic solvents, referred to as
polar, will dissolve polar molecular compounds as well as a few ionic ones. In general, polar
compounds, of which ionic compounds are an extreme example, are soluble in polar solvents, and non-
polar compounds are soluble in non-polar solvents. Thus the type of solvent in which a substance is
soluble can give a clue as to whether the compound is ionic or molecular.

Examples of polar and non-polar solvents;

Polar Water H2 O
Methyl alcohol CH3OH
Chloroform CHCl3
Acetone (CH3)2CO

` Non-polar Hexane C6H12

Benzene C6H6
Carbon tetrachloride CCl4

(If a molecule is polar, it has a positive end and a negative end, caused by an uneven distribution of
electrons in the molecule. Positive ends of one molecule are attracted to the negative ends of another!)

Electrical Conductivity

In order for electric current to pass through a material, the material must either contain a large number of
electrons that may move freely through the medium or there must be present ions, positive or negative,
which are free to move. Metals are examples of materials which possess a number of electrons which are
free to move, and conduct electricity. An ionic compound consists entirely of positive and negative ions,
but in the solid state they are bound tightly together and cannot move, thus ionic compounds do not
conduct electricity in the solid state. If an ionic compound is melted the forces between the ions are
greatly weakened, and the ions become mobile, so that the molten substance can conduct electricity. If
an ionic substance is soluble in a solvent, such as water, the bonds between the ions are broken and the
ions are free to move around in solution. Thus solutions of ionic compounds conduct electricity.

A molecular compound, because it has neither free electrons nor ions, does not conduct electricity when
in the pure state. However, some molecular compounds, for example nitric acid, when dissolved in an
appropriate solvent, for example water, completely dissociate into ions and the solution will conduct
electricity. Other molecular compounds, such as aspirin, only partially dissociate and conduct electricity
weakly.

Compounds that can conduct electricity are called electrolytes. They can be either a strong electrolyte if
they conduct electricity well, or a weak electrolyte if they conduct electricity poorly. The ability to
conduct electricity well depends upon the number of mobile ions that are present in the medium. Thus
compounds that completely dissociate into ions and produce a lot of ions (i.e. ionic compounds) will be
strong electrolytes, while compounds that only partially dissociate into ions will be weak electrolytes.
Examples of the latter are weak acids such as acetic acid (vinegar) where only a small fraction of the

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acetic acid molecules dissociate to form ions. Thus strong electrolytes tend to be ionic compounds while
weak electrolytes tend to be molecular compounds although there are exceptions to this general rule. For
example, hydrogen chloride is a gaseous molecular compound, but when dissolved in water forms a
strongly conducting solution because all the HCl molecules dissociate into hydrogen and chloride ions.
No single test is a good indicator as to the nature of a chemical compound. Thus conductivity alone
cannot categorically distinguish between an ionic or molecular compound (HCl is a case in point here).
Definite proof would require further experimentation. Does the pure compound in the liquid state
conduct electricity? What is the melting point of the compound? What is its solubility in water, or in a
hydrocarbon such as benzene?

In this experiment some physical properties of some known chemical compounds will be investigated,
and then the categorization of some unknown compounds as being either ionic or molecular will be
made based on their physical properties.

Experimental (Work in Pairs)

State of the Pure Substance

Take a look at samples of the pure substances available in the laboratory. Describe the state (solid, liquid
or gas) of each pure substance

Solubility

Determine which of the following compounds are soluble in water, a polar solvent, and which are
soluble in cyclohexane, a non-polar, organic solvent. Place a small amount of the compound to be tested
in 2 ml of the solvent, in a test tube, shake and try to dissolve. Use approximately the same amount of
compound for each test. Be patient, it sometimes takes a while for some substances to dissolve,
especially if they are crystalline.

Perform solubility tests on the following compounds

a Petroleum ether b Naphthalene c Ethanol

The solubility of the other compounds on the data page can be inferred from the fact that aqueous
solutions of those compounds are provided.

Electrical conductivity

Demonstration: The laboratory instructor will demonstrate the electrical conductance properties of
potassium nitrate. Record and explain all observations made.

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Using the method demonstrated by the laboratory instructor, test the electrical conductivity of the
following prepared solutions;

a. Distilled water, H2O f Aqueous sodium hydroxide

b Aqueous sodium chloride, NaCl g Petroleum ether
c Aqueous sucrose (table sugar) h Aqueous Acetic acid, HC2H3O2
d Aqueous hydrogen chloride, HCl i Aqueous ammonia, NH4OH
e Ethanol, C2H5OH j Aqueous copper sulfate, CuSO4
f Tap water k Ocean Water
l Equal volumes of aqueous acetic acid (h) and aqueous ammonia (i)

Melting point

Determine the melting point of naphthalene using the apparatus shown below. For all the other
compounds listed use a suitable reference book, such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics,
or Aldrich Chemical catalog, or use the Internet to find the melting points.

Apparatus for determining melting points

Classification of Unknown

Choose an unknown and record the number. Perform suitable tests (solubility, electrical conductivity,
melting points, (if necessary) to determine whether the assigned compound is ionic, polar molecular or
non-polar molecular.

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Post-Lab Questions

1. A white solid melts at 1000 0C. The melt conducts electricity. Classify the substance as best as
you can from these facts.

2. A given substance is a white solid at 250C. It melts at 1500C without decomposing, and the melt
does not conduct an electric current. What would be the classification of the substance, based on
this information?

3. From the ‘electrical conductivity,’ section, compare the extent of conductivity of the mixture
containing equal volumes of acetic acid and aqueous ammonia to the conductivity of acetic acid
and ammonia alone. Explain.

4. Compare the electrical conductivity of distilled water with that of tap and ocean water. Explain
your observations.

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