Motivation
Presentation of the
lesson and objectives
□ Lesson Chemical Bonding: Properties of Compounds
□ Objective/s - identify and describe ionic and covalent compounds based on their chemical formula
and chemical names;
- enumerate and discuss different physical properties of ionic and covalent;
- distinguish ionic from covalent compound based on their physical properties; and
- cite a natural phenomenon that uses different physical properties of ionic and covalent
compound (ex. Snowflakes, voltaic cells).
Lesson Proper
□ Activity Getting to Know Chemical Compounds
Most elements bond with other elements to form chemical compounds. The table below
shows the list of commonly used chemical compounds. Identify the name of elements
included in the given compound and determine whether the elements are metal or non-
metal. Answer for number 1 item is provided as an example. Write your notebook.
Guide Questions:
1. How do compounds form?
2. What does a compound contain?
Answer
Guide Questions:
1. A compound is form when two or more elements bond.
2. A compound contains two or more different elements.
□ Analysis
Let’s Bond with Ionic and Covalent Compounds
Compounds play a big part in our everyday life, like for example, you can find
compounds present in food, air, cleaning chemicals, and literally in every object that you
can see or touch. Compounds are made up of elements that are chemically bonded by
electrostatic forces. Compounds can be classified as ionic or covalent. An ionic
compound is formed when metal (cation) transfers its valence electron/s to a nonmetal
(anion). The covalent compound is formed when nonmetals share their valence electrons
with another nonmetal. The figure below shows an illustration on how each element
transfer or share their valence electrons to attain stability.
Identifying and Describing Compounds through its Chemical Formula and Chemical
Name
Ionic and covalent compounds can be identified and described through their chemical
formula and name by observing the types of elements involved in a compound. In
chemistry, the chemical formula is a symbolic expression signifying the number of atoms
present in a molecular substance. We determine the type of atom by referring to its
chemical symbol. The number of atoms is determined by the subscript attached to the
symbol. On the other hand, chemical name shows the name of each element involved in
a compound. For example, carbon dioxide, the chemical formula is written as C𝑂2. This
means that this is an example of a covalent compound, since the elements involved are
nonmetals, namely, one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Moreover, sodium chloride,
which chemical formula is written as NaCl is an example of an ionic compound. Since the
elements involved in a compound are sodium (Na) a metal and chlorine (Cl) a nonmetal.
Take a look at your answer in the table of compounds activity you did. Which among the
given compounds do you think can be classified as ionic and covalent compounds based
on their chemical formula and name?
Mara is preparing a lunch for her family. While
gathering all the ingredients for her recipe, she is a
bit confused between the two identical canisters.
One canister contains salt (NaCl) and the other
contains sugar ( ). Both contents are white powder
solid in appearance at room temperature. Without
tasting the sample compounds in the canister, how
do you know if a compound is salt (ionic) or sugar
(covalent)?
Understanding the Different Properties of Compounds
Ionic and covalent compounds have different physical properties that will help distinguish
them.
1. At normal atmospheric pressure and temperature, covalent compounds may exist in
solid, liquid, or a gas, while ionic compounds exist only as crystalline solids.
The reason for this is, in covalent compounds, electrons are shared and no full ionic
charges are formed, which makes; the molecules in this compound not strongly attracted
to one another compared to ionic compounds. Thus, covalent molecules move freely and
tend to exist as liquid or gas at room temperature like alcohol, which is widely used as a
disinfectant, fuel, and as a main component of alcoholic beverages.
Most ionic compounds do not actually exist as molecules; instead, the ions are arranged
in an alternating positive and negative ion bonded together in a matrix. As a result, the
ions are held rigidly together in their crystal lattice structure, and that is why they are solid
under normal atmospheric pressure and temperature, like for example sodium chloride
(NaCl), which is commonly used for flavoring and preserving foods.
2. Ionic compounds generally have higher melting and boiling points while covalent
compounds have lower melting and boiling points.
Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling point because it takes a lot of thermal
energy for ions (charged atoms) in the crystal to separate them apart from each other.
On the other hand, covalent compounds have low melting and boiling point because of
the weak force of attraction between molecules. As a result, a small amount of thermal
energy can separate them.
3. Ionic compounds are hard and brittle, while covalent compounds are soft and flexible.
Crystal lattices are among the factors that affect the hardness and brittleness of
compounds. This refers to the symmetrical three- dimensional arrangement of atoms
inside a crystal. The crystal lattices of ionic compounds are hard and not easily
scratched, however, it is brittle, which can lead changes to its shape or size. In contrast,
covalent compounds have molecules that are weakly attracted to each other and are
easily displaced.
4. Ionic compounds have high polarity, while covalent compounds have low polarity.
Polarity, in a compound, results in the distribution of electrical charge over the atoms
joined by a chemical bond. In a chemical bond, polarity arises from the relative
electronegativities of the elements. Electronegativity refers to the ability of an atom to
attract electrons toward itself in a chemical bond.
To determine the polarity of compounds, we simply determine the electronegativity
difference (EN) of a compound by subtracting the electronegativity value of the elements
involved in a compound. If the difference in EN values between the metallic element and
non-metallic elements is greater than 1.9 the compound is considered as ionic in
character. Covalent compound may result in polar or nonpolar bond. Polar covalent bond
results when the EN difference of two non-metallic elements is equal to 0.5 and lower
than 1.9. On the other hand, nonpolar covalent bond results when the EN difference of
non-metallic elements is lower than 0.5. Two identical non-metallic elements (diatomic
molecules) always produce nonpolar covalent bond like nitrogen gas (𝑁2), oxygen gas
(𝑂2), and hydrogen gas (𝐻2).
5. Ionic compounds are usually soluble in water, while covalent compounds tend to be
less soluble in water.
Solubility is the ability of a substance that may exist in solid, liquid, or gas form, referred
to as the solute, to dissolve in solvent. Many ionic compounds are highly soluble in water
because water molecules, a polar solvent attract each of the ions of an ionic compound
and pull the ions away from one another. However, ionic compounds are less soluble in
solvents that contain a common ion. On the other hand, some covalent compounds are
not soluble in water: they do not dissolve well in water. Compounds that have similar
properties (particularly polarity), tend to dissolve in each other. This concept is often
expressed as “Like dissolves like” but for substances with unlike polarities, like water and
oil, where water is polar and oil is nonpolar, these two substances are insoluble with each
other.
6. Ionic compounds tend to be less flammable than covalent compounds.
Flammability refers to the ability of a chemical substance to burn causing fire.
Combustion happens when substances containing carbon and hydrogen reacted with
oxygen gas and it will form carbon dioxide (C𝑂2) and water (𝐻2 𝑂). For example,
organic compounds which are mostly found together in covalent compounds burn
because they contain carbon and hydrogen. As a result, more covalent compounds tend
to be more flammable than ionic compounds. However, not all covalent compounds burn.
For instance, water, though a covalent, has molecule which is bonded with a polar
covalent—that is why it is hard to start fire with it.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is an example of covalent compound that contain
flammable mixture of hydrocarbon (hydrogen and carbon) gases. It is usually used as
fuel in cooking equipment, heating appliances, and vehicles. The flammability property of
this compound requires all the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry participants to
observe the minimum safety standards in the transportation and distribution of the
petroleum product in cylinders under the mandated order of the Department of Energy
(DOE), stated in their department circular (DC) 2014-01-0001 or the “The LPG Industry
Rules”.
7. Ionic compounds conduct heat and electricity compared to covalent compounds.
The conductivity of a substance refers to its ability to transmit heat and electricity. In a
chemical bond, ionic compounds are generally considered a good conductor of electricity
when dissolved or in an aqueous solution. This is because of the presence of mobile ions
(solid electrolytes) in ionic compound that can transfer electrical charge. Ionic
compounds are also considered as good conductor of heat because the ions are all next
to each other, making it possible for energy to be transferred efficiently from one place to
another.
Covalent compounds, on the other hand, are considered as good insulators of both
electricity and heat. This is the reason why that there are no mobile charged particles and
electrons are shared by atoms in a covalent bond. Moreover, covalent compounds have
molecules that are not as tightly held to each other compared to ions in an ionic
compound. As a result of this, heat does not travel well, making heat transfer less
efficient.
Take note, these are only general properties, and there are always exceptions to every
rule.
Natural Phenomena that Use Different Properties of Ionic and Covalent Compounds
A. Frozen Fractals of Snowflakes
Have you been dreaming of a white Christmas here in the Philippines, wherein
you can enjoy wearing your jackets while having a cup of hot chocolate over a
fireplace? Do you think it is possible for us Filipinos to witness having snow in a
yuletide season?
The Philippines is considered a tropical country, wherein according to PAGASA
(Philippine Astronomical Geophysical Atmospheric Space Administration), we
experience high relative humidity or moisture content of the atmosphere.
Varying between 71 percent in March and 85 percent in September, high
humidity levels are attributed to the high temperature and the bodies of water
surrounding the archipelago. Back in 2017, there were reports of hailstones, or
ice pieces, each about half an inch in diameter, falling over parts of Quezon City
and Alabang. However, hailstone, which refers to a frozen form of precipitation,
is different from the snow. Hailstone usually forms during a thunderstorm when
upward moving air prevents ice particles from falling from the atmosphere,
making it suspended in the air as supercooled water which freeze into the balls
of ice.
In contrast, snow refers to small, soft, white pieces of ice. Snow is formed when
the temperature is low and there is moisture in the atmosphere in the form of
tiny ice crystals in clouds that stick together to become snowflakes. These
snowflakes are three- dimensional pattern with six-sided symmetry. Each
molecule that joins the snowflakes reflects the internal order of the crystal’s
water molecules until eventually, we can see its macroscopic six-sided shape.
The chemical formula of snowflakes is the same as water molecules. Therefore,
the intermolecular force found in snowflakes are a covalent bond. The
hexagonal sides of snowflakes are the results of two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom that form “bent” molecular shapes. This is a result of the hydrogen
bond that forms a dipole at the end of an oxygen atom. This enables the
hydrogen side to be positively charged and the oxygen side to be negatively
charged.
B. Chemical Reactions as a Source of Power
One of the priorities of the researchers nowadays is to explore the usage of
chemical reactions to produce electricity. Understanding electrochemistry which
refers to the study of chemical process that causes the movement of electrons
to produce electricity, would greatly help reduce environmental problem that is
caused by burning coals.
Galvanic cell which is known as voltaic cell is a type of electrochemical cell that
uses chemical reaction to produce electric current, specifically an oxidation
reduction reaction. A battery that powers your gadgets like cellphone is an
example of voltaic cell.
The diagram below illustrates different parts and functions of voltaic cell.
In order to generate a flow of electric charge, a strip of metal: zinc (Zn) and
copper (Cu) is placed in an aqueous solution containing the same metal, namely
the Zinc sulfate (ZnS𝑂24+) and copper sulfate (CuS𝑂24+) solution. A piece of
wire is hooked to connect a strip of zinc and copper metals, which causes the
electrons, to move within the wire. Zinc, which has a weaker pull for electrons,
loses electron, which goes through the wire which makes copper that has a
strong pull for electron, gain electrons. After the zinc ions turns into Z𝑛2+, it is no
longer a part of a solid zinc metal instead it becomes metal ions that dissolves in
a solution (ZnS𝑂24+). On the other hand, when copper gained two electrons it
becomes a neutral atom, that can no longer dissolve in the solution, instead it
become a part of a solid copper metal.
In terms of chemical process, moving electrons create electricity, and flow from
a piece of zinc that serve as an anode, site of oxidation to a piece of copper,
which is the cathode, the site of reduction. These two reactions involve two half
reactions of oxidation and reduction. The voltaic cells also include a salt bridge
that balance the charges and allows the ions to flow from one half cell to
another. In addition, a voltmeter is used to measure potential difference
between two half cells.
