As you may now know there are two types of atomic compounds, ionic compounds and covalent compounds. They differ not only in properties, but also in structure. Covalent compounds have a low polarity, while ionic compounds have a high polarity. A covalent compound is formed between two nonmetals that have similar electronegativities.
Both atoms aren’t strong enough to attract electrons. Therefore, for stabilization, they share their electrons from the outer molecular orbit with others. On the other hand, ionic compounds are formed between a metal and a nonmetal. Non-metals are relatively stronger than metal.
Hence, can get electrons a lot easier form the metal. The two opposite ions attract each other and form an ionic compound. As for shape covalent compounds have a definite shape and ionic bonds have no definite shape.
Covalent compounds have a low melting point, while ionic compounds have a high melting point. Examples of covalent compounds is, Methane (CH4) and Hydrochloric acid (HCl). Examples of ionic compounds is, Sodium Chloride (NACl) and Sulphuric acid (H2SO4). Covalent compounds occur between two non-metals and ionic compounds occur between one metal and one non-metal. The boiling point for covalent compounds is low and for ionic compounds it is high.
Lastly, at room temperature covalent compounds are liquid or gaseous. While, ionic compounds are solid at room temperature. There is no such thing as a perfect lab. In this lab there were three noticeable errors that could have possibly altered the lab results. The first one was that the amount of sugar and salt placed into the test tubes was uneven. Having unequal measurements can affect results. For example, if there was more salt than sugar in the test tubes, salt could have taken much longer to dissolve because of the difference in amount compared to sugar.
The second error that took place in this lab was the amount of of energy put into shaking the test tubes. While doing the lab we had two different people shake the test tubes. Having two different people results in two different amounts of energy. For example, if Student #1 put in more energy than Student #2, the mixture Student #1 has will dissolve quicker. And if Student #2 put less energy, the mixture will most likely take longer to dissolve. This would lead in inaccurate results. Last, but not least, there was a time limit alongside completing the lab.
Rushing the procedure instead of carefully doing it properly can cause inaccurate results. For example, rushing could cause an unequal amount of vegetable oil in each test tube. An extension to the lab could be to repeat the procedure, but using sodium bicarbonate instead of salt and sugar. Sodium bicarbonate is a chemical powder known as baking soda. Baking soda has several uses just like salt and sugar.
It would be interesting to figure out the solubility, melting point, and conductivity of baking soda. Substituting baking soda for salt and sugar would be interesting because all three have very similar physical properties. All three are, white and fine. I hypothesis that baking soda will have similar chemical properties to both substances. Another extension to the lab would be to conduct a second trial fro more accurate results. For example, having more trials will increase the accuracy of the experiment. Two is always better than one.