Essay On Ionic Compounds

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How can placing 2 different compounds in water baths with increasing temperatures reveal whether they are ionic or covalent from their melting points?

Hypothesis:
According to what I have learned, I believe that the compound that melts first must be covalent whilst the compound that takes longer to melt will be ionic. This is due to the fact that ionic compounds have higher melting points. This is because the electrostatic connections that hold the compounds together are incredibly strong. This means that the positive and negative charges from the metal and nonmetal are incredibly attracted to one another and form very sturdy bonds that require a lot of energy to break apart. This means that a higher temperature with more energy will be necessary …show more content…

An ionic compound is defined as “a chemical compound of cations and anions which are held together by ionic bonds in a lattice structure”. This basically means that a compound is formed when the transfers of electrons occur from metal loosing electrons and becoming cations/+ (to achieve a complete outermost shell) and non-metals gaining electrons and becoming anions/- (to complete their outermost shell). These ions of opposite charges are powerfully attracted to one another and form very tight bonds. Covalent compounds are formed when two or more non-metal atoms bond by sharing valence electrons to complete their outermost shell. Valence electrons are the spare electrons on the outermost shell and are always the ones involved in bonding. Atoms share these electrons to achieve the noble gas structure and this is why ionic compounds give/take electrons as well. Some characteristics of ionic compounds would be: that it includes metals bonding with nonmetals, the positive/negative charges, its crystal lattice, the fact that it is non malleable, their high melting points, they conduct electricity (only if molten or dissolved), they are soluble in water and that they are solid at room temperature. Some characteristics of covalent bonds would be: that it occurs between 2 nonmetals; elements share electrons in molecules; low melting points (due to their weak bonds) and the fact that they are usually gases, sometimes liquids and rarely solids at room

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