Question

The lab question is “Based on a substance’s properties, how can you determine whether its bonds are ionic or covalent?” Fill in the box to answer this question with a hypothesis.

Hypothesis: If a substance contains ionic bonds, then its properties would include . . .

Answer 1

Hypothesis: If a substance contains ionic bonds, then its properties would include a crystalline solid structure at room temperature, high melting and boiling points, hardness and brittleness, solubility in polar solvents (like water), and the ability to conduct electricity when molten or dissolved (but not in the solid state); the substance will typically be made of metal and nonmetal ions held by strong electrostatic attractions.