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January 16, 2014

Peter Fenger
Experiment 9.2
Dissolving-ability (solubility) of Ionic Compounds in Polar Covalent and Purely Covalent
Compounds
I. Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to see that purely covalent and polar molecules have different
solubility due to the difference in electrical charge. Electrical charge causes things to dissolve.
II. Hypothesis
If you mix salt with water, then it will dissolve.
III.Materials/Supplies

Two Test Tubes


Plenty of Table Salt
Water
Vegetable Oil

IV. Procedure
1. Take both test tubes and put enough salt into each of them to cover the bottom of each tube so
that it is fully visible.
2. Fill one of the tubes of the way with water and the other tube of the way with vegetable oil.
3. Cover the tubes with your thumbs and shake them vigorously for several minutes.
4. Allow the tubes to stand for about a minute
5. Hold the test tubes up the light and see what happened to the salt contained in them.
6. Clean up.
V. Observation and Data
1. We ran out of salt during this part of the experiment, so our instructor went and got some of her
own. We eventually where able to put in enough salt required.
2. For the water portion we just used tap water. As soon as we had filled both tubes the salt mixed
with water was already dissolving, but the salt and oil one was not.
3. We shook the tubes vigorously but no matter how hard we shook the tubes the one with oil and
salt just would not dissolve.
4. We let the tubes stand for several minutes by now the salt and water tube was totally dissolved,
the oil and salt one on the other hand was just as undissolved as it was at the beginning.
5. After letting the tubes stand for several minutes the truth was shown, the dust had settled and
the salt had dissolved in water but not in oil.

January 16, 2014


Peter Fenger

VI. Conclusion
My hypothesis was clearly proven correct by my results. However, why did the table salt dissolve in
the water but not the vegetable oil? This is because table salt is an ionic compound, and it is thus
composed of ions that possess electrical charge. Water has a partial charge. Vegetable oil in non-polar,
and has no electrical charges so thus it cannot interact with and dissolve the salt. Electrical charge is
what makes something dissolve. Electrical charge is the reason for why polar covalent compounds can
dissolve anything, while non-polar compounds cannot dissolve anything but other non-polar
compounds. This is why the salt was dissolved with the water, but not the oil.

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