Summary

In this activity, students will practice naming and writing formulas of ionic compounds by actually looking at some examples. They also observe the color and "form" of each compound.

Grade Level

High school

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to

• Bulleted list of what students should be able to do by the end of the lesson.
• Should be specific and measureable

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

• Naming compounds

Time

Teacher Preparation: 30 minutes

Lesson: 30 minutes

Materials

Suggested ionic compounds for the activity

• Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃)
• Mercury(II) iodide (HgI₂)
• Copper(II) sulfate (CuSO₄)
• Sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO₃)
• Nickel (II) chloride (NiCl₂)
• Potassium chromate (K₂CrO₄)
• Nickel(II) nitrate (Ni(NO₃)₂)
• Sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃)
• Ammonium chloride (AlCl₃)
•  Cobalt(II) chloride (CoCl₂) 
• Chromium(III) nitrate (Cr(NO₃)₃)
• Sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH₂PO₄)
• Sodium phosphate (Na₃PO₄)
• Iron(II) sulfide (FeS)
• Potassium dichromate (K₂Cr₂O₇)
• Potassium permanganate (KMnO₄)
• Copper(I) oxide (Cu₂O)
• Silver nitrate (AgNO₃)
• Sodium acetate (NaC₂H₃O₂)
• Zinc sulfate (ZnSO₄)
• Manganese(IV) oxide (MnO₂)

Safety

• Always wear safety goggles when working in the lab.
• Students should wash their hands thoroughly before leaving the lab.
• When students complete the lab, instruct them how to clean up their materials and dispose of any chemicals.

Teacher Notes

• This gives students a chance to get out of their seats and to see actual compounds, rather than assigning names to meaningless substances.
• This is a "prepare one time and you're set" activity and teachers can use whatever compounds they have in their lab to prepare the sets.