Unknown Substance D Lab

When Unknown Substance D was observed on the hot plate, it turned a brownish color and into a sticky liquid at two minutes just like the known covalent compounds, proving Unknown D had a low melting point. Ionic compounds cannot melt because they are made up of atoms with full opposite charges, so their intermolecular forces are stronger. While ionic compounds do not melt, covalent compounds do because their atoms only have slight charges, so their intermolecular forces are weaker. Since ionic compounds have stronger intermolecular forces, it takes more energy to pull the molecules apart. Opposite of ionic compounds, covalent compounds have weaker intermolecular forces, so it takes less heat to pull the molecules apart, which makes covalent

The observations that were made during the conductivity testing process were that, according to the chart given in the lab, the covalent compounds in solution had a low scale of conductivity, while the ionic compounds in solution had a high scale of conductivity. The sugar had a scale of 0 with no red light seen in the red LED and no light present in the green LED, and the levulose had a scale of 1 with a dim red light seen in the red LED and no light present in the green LED. The baking soda had a scale of 3 with a bright red light seen in the red LED, and dim light present in the green LED and the table salt had a scale of 4 with a very bright red light seen in the red LED and medium light present in the green LED. These observations prove that substances that are made of covalent bonds have a low conductivity in a solution, while the substances that involve ionic bonds have a high conductivity in solution. When Unknown Substance D was stirred in a beaker with the distilled water and tested for its conductivity, Unknown D’s conductivity in solution had a scale of 1 with a dim red light seen in the red LED and no light present in the green LED, just like levulose which is also a covalent compound. Unknown D’s low scale of conductivity in solution is the second piece of evidence in proving that substance Unknown Substance D is a covalent compound. When an ionic compound is mixed with water, the negative atom of the substance attracts to the slightly positive hydrogen atoms, and the positive atom of the substance attracts to the slightly negative oxygen. This way the negative and positive atoms separate into ions and have free electrons moving around to conduct electricity. Sadly, covalent compounds do not get