Ionic vs. Covalent Compounds Worksheet
Name _______________________
Date ______________ Period ____
1. Consider the compound, BF3.
a) What is the 1st element of the compound?
____________________
b) What is the 2nd element of the compound?
____________________
c) What combination of elements is found in this compound? Circle one.
metal-nonmetal
or
nonmetal-nonmetal
d) This compound is _________________. (ionic or covalent?)
e) When naming this type of compound, prefixes _____________ (are or are not?) used.
f) The name for the compound, BF3, is ______________ _______________________.
g) Would BF3, when dissolved in water, conduct electricity?
Yes
or
No
h) Which of the following best explains your prediction of the conductivity of the BF3 solution?
A. The BF3 particles are not free to move.
B. The BF3 particles are free to move.
C. The BF3 particles are molecules and are neutral (no charge).
D. The BF3 particles are ions and are charged.
i) Draw your visualization of BF3, dissolved in water.
j) When the compound is dissolved, collisions of the water particles
with the compound causes attractions to break between
________________. (atoms, ions, or molecules?)
2. Consider the compound, SnI2.
a) What is the 1st element of the compound?
____________________
b) What is the 2nd element of the compound?
____________________
c) What combination of elements is found in this compound? Circle one.
metal-nonmetal
or
nonmetal-nonmetal
d) This compound is _________________. (ionic or covalent?)
e) When naming this type of compound, prefixes _____________ (are or are not?) used.
f) The name for the compound, SnI2, is ______________ _______________________.
g) Would SnI2, when dissolved in water, conduct electricity?
Yes
or
No
h) Which of the following best explains your prediction of the conductivity of the SnI2 solution?
Hint: you may circle more than one.
A.
B.
C.
D.
The SnI2 particles are not free to move.
The SnI2 particles are free to move.
The SnI2 particles are molecules and are neutral (no charge).
The SnI2 particles are ions and are charged.
i) Draw your visualization of SnI2, dissolved in water.
j) When the compound is dissolved, collisions of the water particles
with the compound causes attractions to break between
________________. (atoms, ions, or molecules?)
3. Refer to your periodic table. Write the name for one combination of elements that would form an
ionic compound. It cannot be the name of any compound tested in Lab 5.4.
_________________ ___________________
4. List one combination of elements that would form a covalent compound. It cannot be the name of any
compound tested in Lab 5.4.
_________________, ___________________
Why is it hard to know what the name of the covalent compound would be without knowing the
formula of the compound?