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VI.

Ionic and covalent substances Page 1

Topic VI. Ionic and covalent substances

Reference Integrated Chemistry Today (2nd Ed.), L.H.M Chung, Book 1A, pg 104–110
Reading

Objectives 1.6
– describe the differences in hardness, melting point boiling point, solubility and electrical conductivity
between ionic and covalent substances
– explain the differences in physical properties between ionic and covalent substances in terms of the nature of
forces holding the particles together:
(a) in solid ionic substances, e.g. sodium chloride and copper(II) sulphate, consist of giant lattices of ions
held together by strong electrostatic forces (giant ionic structure)
(b) some solid covalent substances e.g. iodine, sulphur and dry ice, consist of a regular arrangement of
molecules held together by weak forces called van der Waals forces (simple molecular structure)
(c) some solid covalent substances e.g. diamond and quartz, consist of a giant lattice of atoms held together
by strong covalent bonding (giant covalent structure)
– predict the structures and properties of compounds when the group numbers of constituent elements are given

Notes VI. Ionic and covalent substances

A. Structures of different substances

The most obvious difference between substances with molecular structure and those with giant structure is that the
latter ones have much higher melting point and boiling point.

1. Different kinds of particles

All substances are comprised of tiny particles. Moreover, there are huge number of different substances in the
world, logically, there must also be huge number of different particles. For simplicity, all particles can be
classified into 3 categories :

atom – smallest particle of an element e.g. oxygen atom O, chlorine atom Cl


molecule – group of atoms e.g. oxygen molecule O=O, water molecule H–O–H
ion – charged atom or molecule e.g. oxide ion O2-, chloride ion Cl-, hydroxide ion H–O-
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 2

2. Constituent particles of different substances

* Silicon(IV) oxide does not consist of individual molecules

The properties of a substance is related to the structure of the substance instead of the bonding only.

Structure = Particles + Bonding + Arrangement

B. Origin of different physical properties

1. Hardness

Hardness is a measure of
how easy a solid can be
broken.

Hardness depends on the


strength of attractions
holding the particles
together.

2. Melting point and boiling point

Similar to hardness, melting point and boiling point are measures of the strength of attractions among the
particles.

If the attractions are strong, a higher temperature will be required to set the particles free. Thus, the melting point
and the boiling point would be higher.
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 3

3. Electrical conductivity

Electrical conductivity depends on the presence of free charge carriers.


There is two types of free charge carriers :
In metal - free electrons
In liquid or aqueous electrolyte - mobile ions

4. Solubility

A solid (solute) is soluble in a solvent only if the


attraction between the solvent particle and the solute
particle is stronger than solute-solute attraction and
solvent-solvent attraction.

solvent-solute >> solute-solute & solvent-solvent

If the attraction between the solvent and solute particles


is strong enough, the mobile solvent particles will be
able to pull the solute particles from the solid structure.
Eventually, all the solute particles will be pulled apart
and distributed evenly in the solvent.

The homogeneous mixture obtained is called a solution


and the process is called dissolution.

If the solute- solute attraction is stronger, the solvent particles will not be able to pull the solute particles apart.
If the solvent-solvent attraction is stronger, the solvent particles will prefer to stick together instead of pulling the
solute particles.

LIKE DISSOLVES LIKE

Common salt (Na+Cl-(s)) is only soluble in water but not in organic solvent.

The dipole-ion interaction between the water


molecule and sodium ion or chloride ion is strong
enough to pull the ions apart.

The attraction between ions and non-polar solvent molecules are rather weak (most of the organic solvent are non-
polar). Therefore, ionic compound is not soluble in non-polar solvent.

Nevertheless, not all ionic compounds are soluble in water. e.g. calcium sulphate, Ca2+SO42-(s), is insoluble in
water. The doubly charged Ca2+ ion and SO42- ion make the ionic bond too strong to be broken by the dipole-ion
interaction.

Similarly, plastic (a molecular solid) is soluble in organic solvent but not in water. In water, the attraction among
water molecules is even stronger than the attraction between water molecule and plastic molecule.

A rule can be generalized from the above deduction - "Like Dissolves Like". A polar solute (ionic compound) is
only soluble in polar solvent (water) while a non-polar solute is only soluble in non-polar solvent.
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 4

C. Physical properties of covalent and ionic substances

The physical properties of a substance mainly depends on the strength of the forces among the particles.

I. Ionic substance
For ionic compound, the attraction among the ions are strong electrostatic attractions. Because the attractions are
strong, all ionic compounds have high melting point and boiling point. e.g. sodium chloride (m.p. 801 ºC)

II. Covalent substance


For covalent substance, there are two possibilities.
1. For covalent substances with giant covalent structure (e.g. diamond and quartz), there is only strong covalent
bond among the atoms. Therefore, all giant covalent structures also have high melting point and boiling
point.
e.g. diamond (m.p. 3550 ºC) and quartz (m.p. 1610ºC)

2. But for those covalent substance with molecular structure (e.g. water H2O), there are two kinds of forces
acting among the particles.
a. Strong covalent bond among the atoms - strong intramolecular forces (intra - within).
b. Weak attraction forces among the molecules - weak intermolecular forces (inter - between).
e.g. water (m.p. 0 ºC)
δ-
weak intermolecular forces O
δ- H δ+
H
O strong intramolecular forces
(O-H covalent bond)
H H
δ+ δ-
O
H δ+
H
This explain why water can be turned into steam easily but will not be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen
by heating. (Decomposition of water molecule involves breaking of the strong O–H bond).
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 5

When the temperature is lowered to 0 ºC, water turns into ice. At low temperature, the kinetic energy
possessed by the water particle is not enough to offset the attraction forces among the water molecule. The
water molecules stick together and become ice.

Physical state of a substance

Although the intermolecular forces are weak, molecular substance can be a solid at low temperature. The
molecules are arranged regularly in the solid to form a molecular crystal.
The weak intermolecular forces holding the molecules in iodine, sulphur and dry ice are called van der Waals'
forces.

Structure of iodine crystal

D. Difference between ionic compound and covalent substance

Structure Giant ionic structure Giant covalent structure Simple molecular structure
Constituent metal / non-metal system non-metal / non-metal non-metal / non-metal
elements system system
Attraction strong ionic bond among strong covalent among atoms strong intramolecular
involved oppositely charged ion covalent bond but weak
intermolecular forces
Boiling point and High High Low
melting point
Hardness Hard Hard Usually liquid or gas
Solubility Soluble in water but Insoluble in all kinds of Usually soluble in organic
insoluble in organic solvent solvent solvent but insoluble in
water.
Electrical Conduct electricity in Do not conduct electricity Do not conduct electricity
conductivity aqueous or molten state except graphite

Glossary simple molecular structure macromolecule giant ionic structure giant covalent structure
giant metallic structure hardness melting point boiling point solubility
homogenous mixture solute solvent solution dissolution free charge carriers
intramolecular forces intermolecular forces kinetic energy molecular crystal
van der Waals' forces polar molecule non-polar molecule like dissolves like
dipole-ion interaction
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 6

Past Paper 91 I 1 a v
Questions 93 I 2 b iii
94 I 7 b i
98 I 7 a i
99 I 4

91 I 1 a v
1a The following is a part of the Periodic Table:
Group
I II III IV V VI VII 0
Second Period a b
Third Period c d e f g
Referring to the letters indicated in the above table, answer the following questions
v Element e can form compounds with elements a and c separately. 4
(1) Draw the electronic structures of these two compounds, showing the outermost electrons ONLY.
(2) Which of these two compounds has a higher melting point ? Explain your answer.
(1)

1 + 1 marks
(Accept C for a, Na for c and S for e.)
(2) Compound formed between c and e has a higher m.p. because it is an ionic compound and the ions are held
by strong electrostatic forces / strong ionic bond. 1 mark
Compound formed between a and e is a covalent compound and the molecules are held by weak van der
Waals' forces (intermolecular forces). 1 mark
C (1) The electronic diagram for the compound c2e was incorrectly drawn by many candidates as below:

(2) A common misconception among candidates was that a covalent bond is weaker than an ionic bond. The
difference between melting points of the two compounds c2e and ae2 should be explained in terms of the
forces between ions in the former compound and those between molecules in the latter.

93 I 2 b iii
2b Physical properties of substances depend mainly on the types of binding force between their constituent particles.
iii Explain why tetrachloromethane does not conduct electricity in liquid state. 1
Tetrachloromethane which is a covalent compound, does not possess any mobile electrons (ions) / exists as
discrete molecules in liquid state, therefore is not an electrical conductor. 1 mark
C Many candidates wrongly regarded 'liquid CCl4' as 'an aqueous solution of CCl4'.
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 7
94 I 7 b i
7b The table below lists some physical properties of lead, bromine and lead(II) bromide.
Lead Bromine Lead(II) bromide
Melting point 328 ºC -7 ºC 370 ºC
Electrical conductivity in the solid state Conducting Non-conducting Non-conducting
Electrical conductivity in the liquid state Conducting Non-conducting —
i Explain the difference in melting points between bromine and lead(II) bromide. 2
Bromide exists as simple molecules with weak intermolecular attraction / van der Waal’s force. ∴ it has low b.p.
(Do NOT accept bromine has weak covalent bond.) 1 mark
In Lead(II) bromide , the attraction between ions is strong / ionic bond / PbBr 2 has strong electrostatic attraction.
∴ it has higher a m.p. 1 mark
(Do NOT accept lead(II) bromide is an ionic compound / ionic structure)
C Many candidates did not mention in their explanation that the van der Waals' forces between bromine molecules
were weak.

98 I 7 a i
7a Both carbon and silicon are Group IV elements in the Periodic Table. The diagrams below show the structures of
dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and quartz (a form of silicon dioxide):

i With reference to the structures of the two substances, explain why quartz is a solid which melts at a high 3
temperature, while carbon dioxide is a gas at room temperature.

99 I 4
4 With the help of electronic diagrams, describe the formation of magnesium chloride and tetrachloromethane
from atoms of relevant elements. State, with explanation, which of the two compounds has a higher melting
point.
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 8
90 25
D 25 Bromine has a low melting point because
A. it is a non-metal.
B. it is a member of the halogen family.
C. the atoms in each bromine molecule are bonded
together by a covalent bond.
D. the bromine molecules are attracted together by van der
Waals' forces.

92 2
D 2 X and Y are elements. The melting points of their chlorides
are given below:
Melting point (ºC)
Chloride of X 772
Chloride of Y -68
Which of the following statements is correct ?
A. Both X and Y are metals.
B. The chloride of Y is a solid at room temperature.
C. The chloride of X conducts electricity in the solid state.
D. The chloride of Y is a covalent compound.

94 46
B 46 Hydrogen chloride has a lower melting point than sodium In each molecule of hydrogen chloride, a hydrogen atom
chloride. and a chlorine atom are joined together by a covalent bond.

95 39
A 39 Which of the following substances can conduct electricity ?
(1) molten zinc chloride
(2) an aqueous solution of magnesium sulphate
(3) a mixture of ethanol and water
A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

96 45
B 45 The melting point of hydrogen chloride is lower than that of Hydrogen chloride is a covalent compound whereas
potassium chloride. potassium chloride is an ionic compound.

96 50
C 50 Both dry ice and quartz exist in the form of discrete Carbon and silicon atoms have the same number of
molecules. electrons in their outermost shells.

97 3
D 3 Argon exists as a gas at room temperature and pressure
because
A. argon molecules are monoatomic.
B. argon is chemically inert.
C. the outermost electron shell of an argon atom has an
octet structure.
D. the attractive force between argon atoms is weak.
VI. Ionic and covalent substances Page 9
98 33
B 33 Consider the following information:
Substance Melting Electrical Solubility in
point/° conductivity at water
C room temperature
W -34 poor slightly soluble
X 44 poor insoluble
Y 232 good insoluble
Z 782 poor very soluble
Which of the above substances exists as a simple molecular
solid at room temperature ?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z

99 11
A 11 The table below shows the ability of four substances W, X,
Y and Z to conduct electricity.
(In the table, √ and X respectively represent 'can conduct
electricity' and 'cannot conduct electricity'.)
Substance Solid State Liquid State Aqueous Solution
W X √ √
X X X √
Y X X X
Z √ √ (insoluble in water)
Which of the substances is likely to be zinc chloride ?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z

99 34
D 34 Iodine is a solid at room temperature and pressure. Which
of the following statements concerning the structure of
iodine is/are correct ?
(1) Iodine has a giant covalent structure.
(2) Iodine molecules are held together by van der Waals'
forces.
(3) Iodine atoms are held together in pairs by covalent
bonds.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

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