Ionic and Covalent Bonds

Lab Brief #9

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Mixing two safe things doesn't always make a safe thing.

What you'll learn

Atoms join in two main ways. In an ionic bond, one atom transfers electrons to another, as in table salt, while in a covalent bond atoms share electrons, as in water.

Key words

atom
The tiny building block that makes up everything around us.
electron
A tiny particle with a negative charge that moves around an atom.
chemical bond
The force that holds atoms together to make a substance.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: will the mixture get hotter, colder, or stay the same?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Build a model of an atom using craft supplies. Show protons, neutrons, and electrons in the correct arrangement. Label each particle.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.

Question 1 of 3

What holds atoms together in a molecule?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

What is a compound?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

How is a compound different from a mixture?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🌈 Every color you see is your brain inventing a translation of light frequencies.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is happening in your kitchen right now — every time food cooks.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Find one ingredient in a snack and look up what it does.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's something we cook that mixes things together this way?”

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Ionic and Covalent Bonds

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