Properties of Materials

Introduction

In this page we are going to investigate the different facts and properties of each material used to carry out this experiment, which were Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic Compounds. We will go through the properties such as boiling points, if it conducts electricity, or if it dissolve in water.
We will respond to each question, including a justification

Why do ionic compounds dissolve in water? 

Ionic compounds normally dissolve in water, when an ionic substance is in water, the water molecules pull the positive and negative ions away from each other. When this happens the ionic bonds of the compounds break and as a result the particles move within the water. 

Why do covalent compounds dissolve in water? 

Covalent compounds usually do not dissolve in water. This happens because compounds tend to dissolve in other compounds which have the same or similar properties (particularly polarity).
In this case, water is a polar solvent and most covalent compounds are fairly non-polar, which means they wont be able to dissolve in water.

Why do metals conduct electricity? 

Metals conduct electricity because their atoms are not forced to stay in a specific atomic nucleus, so the electricity can move freely, thourgh the delocalised electron cloud around the packed mass of electrons .

Why do covalent compounds NOT conduct electricity? 

Electricity can be conducted when they are free electrons, that can move through the structure and therefore carry charge. However, in covalent compounds we can’t find those free electrons (because electrons are shared), so covalent compounds do not conduct electricity.

Why do ionic compounds have such high boiling point? 

Ionic compounds have a high boiling point due to the strong electrostatic attraction between the ions involved.

Why do metals have such high boiling points? 

Metals have high melting points because in metals there is a very strong intermolecular force of attraction and it needs a lot of energy to boil the metal.

References

Academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu (2013). Covalent bonds. [online] Retrieved from: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/biology/bio4fv/page/covalenb.htm [Accessed: 22 Nov 2013].

Chemguide.co.uk (2013). metallic bonding. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/metallic.html [Accessed: 22 Nov 2013].

Chemguide.co.uk (2013). ionic (electrovalent) bonding. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/ionic.html [Accessed: 22 Nov 2013].

Hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu (2013). Chemical Bonds. [online] Retrieved from: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/bond.html [Accessed: 22 Nov 2013].

Unknown. (2013). Untitled. [online] Retrieved from: http://mrcanning10c.wikispaces.com/ [Accessed: 22 Nov 2013].