I.

Introduction

Melting point is the temperature at which the process of turning the solid state into its liquid
form. In this experiment, it illustrates on the ranges, behavior, and factors that affects the melting point
of a given substances. Each substance corresponds to a specific melting point at which changes of
matter can be seen through this stage. Identifying the melting point of the substances is an important
part in working at the laboratory because it helps us identify the purity of the substance wherein higher
melting point leads to an impure substance while lower melting point shows a pure substance. As
students who are taking the course of BSMLS, it is important for us to know about melting points of each
substance in order for us to distinguish and determine a certain substance or chemicals with an
unknown identity. This experiment also discusses on the forces that holds the substances together and
its relation to melting point. Doing this experiment helps us understand and examine how melting point
become a great factor in knowing what a substance is and its behavior towards this transition.

II. Objectives
The proponents were able to:
1. Observed the melting point of each substances,
2. Identified the forces that hold the particles together,
3. Distinguished the purity of the substances, and
4. Determined the ranges on where the melting point of the substance starts to appear.
III. Methodology
IV. Results and Discussion

Substance Observations Forces that hold the particles

Sodium Chloride - Did not melt Intermolecular force

(NaCl) - Was still intact Electrostatic Force (strong)

Salicylic Acid - Melted quickly Intermolecular force

(C7H6O3) - Was Transparent Electrostatic Force (weak)
- When heated long
enough, it burned
and left scorch marks
Table 1. Comparison between an ionic compound and a covalent compound upon heating

In table 1, it was observed that the Salicylic Acid crystals melted quickly and yielded a
transparent liquid and left scorch marks when it started to burn but, on the other hand the
Sodium Chloride was still intact and did not proceed to melt yet. The proponents also found that
Sodium chloride has an ionic type of bonding because by common knowledge, ionic bonds are
formed through a metal and non-metal and since Sodium (Na) is a metal and bonded with
 Chlorine (Cl), a non-metal, it can be then said that Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is an ionic compound
whereas Salicylic Acid is a covalent bond since a non-metal bonded with another non-metal as
seen in table 1. With that observation, the proponents then inferred that the intermolecular
forces of Salicylic Acid has a weak electrostatic and Sodium Chloride has an intermolecular force
with a strong electrostatic force. According to Helmenstine (2019), ionic compounds have higher
melting points due to its coulombic force, a coulombic force is where opposite charges are
greatly attracted to each other so meaning ionic compounds have higher energy attraction thus,
a lot of energy is needed in order to break those bonds to let them melt or boil, the stronger the
force of attraction a compound has, the higher the melting point, on the other hand, covalent
bonds have lower melting point due to them having a weaker force of attraction because they
lack an overall electric charge, thus a lower melting point. This proves that what the proponents
inferred were correct, that Sodium Chloride has an intermolecular force with a strong
electrostatic nature and that Salicylic Acid has an intermolecular force with a weak electrostatic
nature.

Substance T1 T2 Range Observations Intermolecular forces holding

the particles

Salicylic Acid 91​°C 105​°C 14 -Fastest to melt Hydrogen Bonding

-Transparent in
liquid form
-Completely
melted at 3 mins
and 45 sec
-Fastest one to
melt

Oxalic Acid 113​°C 129​°C 16 -Started to melt Hydrogen Bonding

at the 6 minute
mark
-Transparent in
liquid form
- has higher
melting point
than Salicylic Acid

Benzoic Acid 121​°C 142​°C 21 -Highest melting Hydrogen Bonding

point
-Transparent in
liquid form

Table 2. Comparison between the melting points of covalent substances

 In table 2, it was observed that salicylic acid melted faster than oxalic and benzoic acids.
From the data gathered above, it can be easily distinguish which has the highest melting point
among the three substances. According to Gillespie (2018), melting point is the temperature at
which a solid turns into a liquid. When molecules are tightly packed together, a substance has a
higher melting point than a substance with molecules that do not pack well. There are different
factors that can affect the melting point of a substance: the composition of the molecules, force
of attraction, and presence of impurities. If the gathered data in table 2 will be used,
hypothetically, salicylic acid will have the lowest melting point, followed by the oxalic, and then
by benzoic acid. For the intermolecular forces holding their particles together, they are all
hydrogen bonding. According to Lumen (n.d), ​hydrogen bonds are strong intermolecular forces
created when a hydrogen atom bonded to an electronegative atom approaches a nearby
electronegative atom. It can be seen above that they differ in temperature range when heated.
Salicylic acid acid started to melt at 91​°C and it completely melted at 105​°C, the fastest
substance melted at ​3 minutes and 45 seconds with a range of 14. The oxalic acid started to
melt at 113​°C and ​completely melted at 129​°C, ​started to melt at the 6 minute mark with a
range of 16. Lastly,the benzoic acid started to melt at 121​°C and completely melted at ​142​°C,
with a range of 21. The higher the range between temperature 1 and temperature 2, the higher
its melting point. But the theoretical temperature of the oxalic acid can elevate up to 240–350°C
and has the highest melting point among the three substances. Followed by salicylic acid which
can yield up to 158.6°C. Benzoic acid can only yield up to 122°C, making it as the substance that
has the lowest melting point. Based on the data in table 2, salicylic acid melted faster than the
benzoic. Therefore, the substance used was impure. With the presence of impurities in the
sample, the melting point is lowered and the melting range is widened since the structure of the
substance is disrupted. Pure substances melt faster with a higher melting point for the reason
that its structure and the bonds between the molecules are not disrupted, therefore, requiring
more thermal energy (heat) to break up the bonds (Brittain, 2009). Whereas an impure
substance will have a disrupted structure signifying disrupted and weakened intermolecular
forces that requires less thermal energy to break down. Additionally, pure substances have a
narrow melting range of 1°C-2°C while the presence of impurities in the sample increases the
melting range since there are higher amounts of the impurity in other regions of the structure of
a substance considering that the structure is not uniform so different areas will start to melt
before the purer regions of the structure (Forsey, n.d.). By identifying the melting point and
melting range of a sample, the purity of a sample can be determined. A narrow melting range
indicates a pure substance with little to no impurities, while a broader melting range and lower
melting point compared to the theoretical melting point indicates the presence of impurities in
the sample.
V. Conclusion

Based on the results of the experiment that was conducted, the melting point of each
substance were observed when the researchers applied heat to the different substances
throughout the experiment. Furthermore, the forces that hold the substances, Sodium Chloride,
Salicylic Acid, Oxalic Acid, and Benzoic Acid, together were identified and this force is called
Intermolecular Force, which are the forces that mediate interactions between molecules, which
includes attraction and repulsion. Thirdly, the purities of the substances were distinguished by
comparing the melting point observed of the substances throughout the experiment to their
theoretical temperature and it was observed that the melting point in the experiment were
significantly lower than the theoretical temperature of the substances, thus deeming the
substances impure. And lastly, the range of where the melting point of the substance starts to
appear was determined by observing the following; the initial temperature of each substance
before heating them, the temperature of when the substances start to melt, and the final
temperature which is when the substance turned into liquid completely.
 VI. References

Brittain, C. G. (2009, May 18). Using Melting Point to Determine Purity of Crystalline Solids [PDF
File]. Retrieved from
https://www.chm.uri.edu/mmcgregor/chm228/use_of_melting_point_apparatus.pdf

Forsey, S. P. (n.d.). Melting point depression [PDF File]. Retrieved from

https://www.ibchem.com/root_pdf/melting_point_depression.pdf

Gillespie, C. (2018, April 13). What Factors Affect Melting Point? Retrieved from
https://sciencing.com/factors-affect-melting-point-8690403.html

Helmenstine, A. M. (2019, May 11). This Common Kitchen Staple Is a Perfect Example of an Ionic
Compound. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/ionic-compound-properties-608497

Lumen. (n.d.). Hydrogen Bonding. Retrieved from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introchem/chapter/hydrogen-bonding/