This activity was a two-week long experiment in which students designed and carried out their own procedures to test the properties of compounds to determine whether these compounds were ionic or covalent. I believe this was one of the most powerful learning experiences my students had to date, and truly resulted in a deep and encompassing knowledge of the properties of ionic and covalent compounds.

We began this experiment with a brief discussion about the different properties that these two types of compounds exhibit (differences in physical appearance, melting point range, solubility, conductivity, and flammability), and students discussed as a class how they could test each of these properties within the constraints of our own lab and then participated in an eye-opening activity aimed at honing their observational skills (which you will see in the video – the "candle" demo). Students were then assigned to their groups and set about creating their procedures.

Once the students had completed their procedures within their groups (and received approval from myself – because above all else – SAFETY is important when working in a lab), the class began testing their compounds. On day one of the lab, students were given three compounds to work with whose identities were known: Salt, Sand, and Wax. Students used the chemical formula of these compounds to predict whether each substance should behave ionically or covalently, and then began testing their procedures. The purpose of this day of "knowns" was to instill in students a sense of confidence in their own procedures, skills in the lab, and skills as inquisitive scientists. As students knew the identities of their compounds, they knew how each of their tests should conclude and so were able to hone their procedures and skills accordingly. This was highly successful, as by the time students had completed day one of lab, they had worked out any "kinks" in their procedures and felt comfortable with the necessary lab equipment – so much so that day two of lab was completed in under 40 minutes, with one of the visitors to our classroom stating that she felt as though she had walked into a "functioning lab" because things flowed so smoothly. Students were very confident in their abilities and it showed.

Here are a few examples of the procedures students created and followed during this experiment. As you can tell, these are much more detailed and complete than the procedures created during our first lab together. (Click to enlarge)

After the experiment ended – our work was far from over. The "hardest" part was about to begin: the lab report. Students in both classes often struggle immensely with lab report write ups, with a grand total of six students opting to simply not complete the lab report and take a zero instead after our previous lab. I was determined not to let this happen again, and so put a great deal of time and effort into solely working on lab report writing in class. Upon the completion of lab, we began by discussing and analyzing our results as a class, using one compound from each group to make sure everyone was involved. We then spent an entire day looking at lab report examples, including a "poor" lab report that I wrote and asked students to pull apart and improve, and a "model" lab report. This activity greatly increased students' comfort level with writing lab reports, with many students commenting on how valuable they found this activity to be and how clear it made the expectations for this write-up. Students participated in a peer editing day on top of this – and were given the opportunity to submit drafts to me as well – and between these two activities, student confidence and excitement over this lab report was through the roof. They boosted student confidence so greatly, that by the time lab reports were due – I was only missing ONE. This was a DRASTIC change from the previous lab turn-in rate – but not only that. The average score (between both classes) increased from a 73 to an 87! That was HUGE! The quality of the analysis, the introductory information, and the procedures was vastly improved – I wish I had some examples from the previous lab to show as a comparison! The lab reports showed an exceptional understanding of the subject matter, with students going well above and beyond the requirements almost across the board – and the test students took following the lab in which they analyzed hypothetical results showed equal understanding and analytical ability. Overall, this two week activity was a very powerful learning experience for the students – and for myself as their teacher – and I hope to see the skills they acquired through this activity transferred to their final lab report of the year in our next unit.

Here are some sample passages from the lab reports students created, as well as a few sample lab reports (including one from a student who had not previously turned in a lab report).

Sample Passages: (click to enlarge)

Sample Lab Reports: (click to enlarge)

Student One

Student Two

Student Three

Below is a video covering our two-week-long lab exploration from start to finish – focusing on the powerful learning exhibited by my tenth grade students.

The following are the LAP's created for this learning activity, the experiment information handout, the lab report rubric and checklist, the modified lab report assignment, and all other handouts from this activity.

LAP's:
LAP – Ionic or Covalent Lab, Day One
LAP – Ionic or Covalent Lab, Day Two
LAP – Ionic or Covalent Lab, Day Three
LAP – Ionic or Covalent Lab, Day Four
LAP – Ionic or Covalent Lab, Day Five

Experiment Handouts:
Properties – Ionic and Covalent Compounds
Overview: Ionic or Covalent Compound Lab
Covalent and Ionic Compounds Lab: PowerPoint

Lab Report Resources:
Lab Report Writing Workshop:  Powerpoint
Peer Review: Feedback Forms.
Model Lab Report
Lab Report Checklist: Ionic or Covalent Lab
Lab Report Writing Workshop: Worksheet
Modified Lab Report Worksheet
Unknown Compound Identities

More Learning Activities from this Unit:
Ionic or Covalent Bond Experiment      Exploring Chemical Bonds – Model Kit
Bingo Dot Modeling Activity      Modeling VSEPR Geometry     DHMO Reading