How can you tell if a substance is ionic or not?

Answer 1

Basically what you have to do is to dissolve the substance in a solvent and see whether the solution conducts electricity as the ions will split up and facilitate conduction. or theoratically you can draw the lewis dot diagram and find out. Or if yu want to find out find out the electronegativity and if the net electronegative difference is > 1.6. then it is an ionic compound

Answer 2

They have relatively high melting and boiling points. There is a wide variation in the properties of different ionic compounds. For example, potassium iodide (KI) melts at 686°C and boils at 1330°C, while magnesium oxide (MgO) melts at 2800°C and boils at 3600°C. Both KI and MgO are ionic compounds
A large amount of energy is often required to decompose the substance chemically into simpler substances
compound has all the properties of a chemical substance and is not a mixture
the probable formulas of ionic substances formed between common metals and ... pairs of elements, tell whether or not the bond will be ionic or covalent. ...

Answer 3

PRACTICAL MAETHOD:
Dissolve the substance in water and prepare an open circuit show whether the electricity is being conducted or not.Ionic compuons are good conducters of electricity .This method is not appropriate as many covalent compounds are also good conducters of electricity.

THEORITICAL METHOD:
You will need a periodic table with the electronegative values.If the difference between the electronegitivity is zero, then the bond is Non-polar covalent bond.For example,Cl-Cl is a non-polar covalent bond.If the difference between the electronegitivities is upto 1.7 then the bond is polar covalent bond.For example,the bond between hydrogen and chlorine,
H-Cl.
If the difference between the electronegitivities is more than 1.7 thewn the bond is Ionic.For example,the bond between Na and Cl.
Na+1e---->Na^+(means Na becomes a positive ion)
Cl-1e---->Cl^-(means Cl becomes a nagative ion)
Na^+ + Cl^- ----> Na^+Cl^-

overall reaction:
Na+Cl---->NaCl

Answer 4

In case you're looking for something concrete in simple terms, an ionic compound will be formed by metal and non-metal components. The metal transfers its valence electron(s) to the non-metal and the resultion electrostatic attraction forms the bond. The only exception is in the case where ammonium (NH4+) is part of your compound; it is a polyatomic cation with no metal components but acts like a metal in this case. The metals are on the left side of your periodic table and often distinguished from non-metals with a stair-shaped diagonal line.