5.

02 Laboratory Worksheet—Assignment Template

To use this template, go to File, select Download As. Then select the file type you can edit.
Once you are done please save this file and attach to your assessment.

Name:

In this activity, you will complete a virtual lab where your job is to identify two unknown compounds by testing
their properties. These properties will help you understand their relative bond strength and identify which one is
an ionic compound and which one is a covalent compound. You may want to review the sections in the lessons
that go over the properties of each type of compound.

Use the interactive on the assessment page to collect your data. Be sure to review the grading rubric before
submitting your work.

Pre-lab Questions: (10 points)

1. What are the properties of ionic compounds?
They form crystals. They are hard and brittle. They have high melting points and boiling points. They
only conduct electricity when they are dissolved in water.

2. What are the properties of covalent compounds?

They have low melting points and boiling points. They are more flammable than iconic compounds. If
they are dissolved in water they don’t conduct electricity.

3. Which type of compound is salt?

Iconic compound

4. Which type of compound is sugar?

Covalent compound

Hypothesis (4 points)
Record your hypothesis as an “if, then” statement for the rate of dissolving the compounds:
If I put the ionic compound in the water to dissolve then it will. If I put the Covalent compound in the water it
will not then dissolve.

Record your hypothesis as an “if, then” statement for the boiling point of the compounds:
If I put the Ionic compound in water to boil it will then start to boil because it has a higher boiling point then
a covalent compound therefore the covalent compound won’t boil or won’t boil as fast.

Variables (6 points)
Independent Variable: Water

Dependent Variable: Hot plate

Controlled Variables: Thermometer and amount of wter

Materials

(Note: this is a virtual lab, no materials are needed. The items listed here are the types of items that could be
used in a similar investigation.)
● a hot plate
● a thermometer
● a scale
● a measuring spoon
● water
● beakers

Procedure

Remember this is a virtual lab. You do not need to actually perform these steps, but follow along and collect the
data!

1. Measure out 100 mL of water into three beakers and label them A, B, and C. Beaker C will be the
control.
2. Then measure 50 grams of unknown compound A into beaker A and stir for one minute. Measure the
amount of undissolved solute and record this in Table 1.
3. Then measure 50 grams of unknown compound B into beaker B and stir for one minute. Measure the
amount of undissolved solute and record this in Table 1.
4. Next, we will test the boiling point of each solution. Place each beaker onto a hot plate.
5. When the solution boils, use a thermometer to record the temperature. Record the boiling point for each
solution in Table 2.

Data: (10 points)

Data Table 1
Record the amount of solute left after one minute of stirring. 

Beaker Amount of Solute at Start (g) Amount of solute at End (g)

Solution with
50 0g
Compound A

Solution with
50 15g
Compound B

Plain water in
0 (control group) No change
Beaker C

Data Table 2
Record the boiling point for each solution.

Beaker Temperature at Start (°C) Temperature at Boiling Point

(°C)

Solution with 23 102.8°C

 Compound A

Solution with
23 108.7°C
Compound B

Plain water in
23 100°C
Beaker C

Analysis and Conclusion (10 points)

1. Which compound dissolved more easily?

Solution from compound A

2. Which compound had the lower boiling point?

Plain water in beaker C

3. Are the answers to 1 and 2 the same compound? What does this tell you about the strength of the bonds in
this compound?
They are not

4. Which compound is the sugar?

Compound A

5. Which compound is the salt?

Compound B