Experiment No.

PROPERTIES THAT DISTINGUISH ORGANIC FROM INORGANIC

COMPOUNDS

Inorganic compounds are ionic compounds (water being the exception). This ionic
quality makes them relatively nonvolatile solids with a disposition toward water solubility.
There are exceptions, of course, but as a reasonable first assumption, any water-soluble, high-
melting compound that will neither char nor ignite and burn completely away is probably
both ionic and inorganic.
Organic compounds, by contrast, characteristically char or burn. If they contain no
metal atoms, they ignite completely, leaving no residue. Most of them are insoluble in water
but dissolve readily in organic solvents such as dichloromethane. Organic compounds tend to
boil or melt easily, and they have odors.

Procedure:

I. Flammability Test
1. Place 2.0 to 3.0 drops of ethanol in an evaporating dish.
2. Ignite the ethanol with a lighted matchstick.
3. Repeat the test, using NaCl solution instead of ethanol.

II. Charring
1. Place a pinch of sucrose in a tin bottle cap.
2. Heat over a Bunsen flame for 2-3 minutes.
3. Repeat the test, using a pinch of KCl instead of sucrose.

III. Solubility Tests

1. Into 3 separate test tubes, place 2.0 ml each of distilled water. To the first
test
tube add a pinch of benzoic acid, to the second test tube add a pinch of
naphthalene and to the third test tube add NaCl.
Shake vigorously.
2. Repeat the procedure, using petroleum ether instead of water.
 IV. Electrical Conductivity
1. Into 4 separate 50 ml beakers, transfer 20.0 ml each of sucrose solution,
glycerol, NaCl solution and ethanol, respectively.
2. Using a conductivity apparatus, determine the electrical conductivity of
each solution by dipping the electrodes into the solutions.

Questions for Discussion:

1.)
a. What happens to the ethanol? NaCl solution?
When the ethanol was ignited, a flame is produced for a long period of time as it
combust. On the other hand, when the NaCl solution was ignited, no flame is produced as the
solution did not combust.
b. Which substance is flammable? Ethanol
c. What kind of flame was produced? Blue and orange
d. What type of compound is the flammable substance? Organic compound

2.)
a. Describe the substance left after heating the sucrose and KCl.
Sucrose - After heating for a few seconds, the substance became amber in color, then
turned black after a few minutes.
KCl - KCl was mixed with water and once the water evaporated, the substance
remained white in color.
b. Compare the results obtained.
Compared to table sugar which turned black and charred when heated, KCl remained
white in color.

3.)
a. Which substance is soluble to water?
Benzoic acid and naphthalene are insoluble in water while NaCl is soluble in water.
b. Which substance is soluble to petroleum ether?
Naphthalene is soluble in petroleum ether and Benzoic acid is slightly soluble in
petroleum ether. On the other hand, NaCl is insoluble to petroleum ether.
 c. What type of compound is soluble to petroleum ether? Organic Compound
d. What type of compound is soluble in water? Inorganic Compound

4.)
a. Which substance is a strong electrolyte? NaCl solution
b. Which substance is a weak electrolyte? None
c. Which substance is a non-electrolyte? Sucrose solution, glycerol, and ethanol.
d. What type of compound is the non-electrolyte substance? Organic compound
Organic Chemistry Individual Report Group No. 4
Name: Mentoy, Jan Jericho C. Date: September 8, 2021
Section: ChE - 2104 Rating: __________

Experiment No. 1

Properties that distinguish Organic from Inorganic compounds

I. Discussion

Flammability tests are conducted to determine if a substance will ignite when exposed
to fire or heat. In the experiment, ethanol and sodium chloride solution were ignited in an
evaporating dish. It was observed that the combustion period of ethanol is longer than the
combustion of sodium chloride. Thus, it can be deduced that organic compounds are more
flammable than inorganic compounds. A difference in the color of the flames was also
observed.
Next is charring. It is defined as the chemical process of incomplete combustion or to
burn a substance to ascertain if the surface will blacken. Two substances, sucrose and
potassium chloride, were heated over a bunsen burner flame and was observed if char will be
produced. After the experiment, only sucrose was observed to have produced a darker surface
and potassium chloride retained its white color. Therefore, it can be concluded that organic
compounds when subjected to high heat produce char while inorganic compounds do not.
Another test conducted to distinguish the differences between organic and inorganic
compounds was the solubility test. It aims to determine if a substance is able to dissolve in a
solvent. After observing the six setups for this test using two different types of solvent, water
and petroleum ether, it was found that only sodium chloride is soluble in water while it is
insoluble in petroleum ether. On the other hand, benzoic acid and naphthalene were insoluble
in water but are soluble in petroleum ether. Accordingly, it can be agreed that organic
compounds are insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents. Moreover, inorganic
compounds are soluble in water and are not in organic solvents.
Lastly, four setups were prepared to test the electrical conductivity of different
substances. Among the four, sodium chloride solution was found to be a substance that is a
strong electrolyte while glycerol, ethanol, and sucrose solution are not able to conduct
electricity. Hence, organic compounds are non-electrolyte substances and inorganic
compounds are good conductors of electricity.

II. Objective/s

● To be able to distinguish between organic and inorganic substances via observation of

various tests.
● To be capable of classifying organic and inorganic compounds focusing on their
different properties obtained throughout a series of experiments.

III. Materials/Reagents

Name of Test Materials Reagents

Flammability Evaporating dish, matchstick, Ethanol and Sodium chloride.

and basic laboratory PPE.

Charring Tin bottle cap, bunsen burner, Sucrose and potassium

tripod, wire gauze, scoopula, chloride.
and basic laboratory PPE.

Solubility Test tubes, scoopula, and Benzoic Acid, naphthalene,

basic laboratory PPE. sodium chloride, and
petroleum ether.

Electrical Conductivity Beakers, tripod, conductivity Sucrose, glycerol, sodium

apparatus, and basic chloride, and ethanol.
laboratory PPE.

IV. Drawings/Set-up

● FLAMMABILITY TEST
 ● CHARRING

● SOLUBILITY TEST

I. Distilled Water Solution-

II. Petroleum Ether Solution

Note: The color of the solution in the picture does not indicate the real color of the
solution.

● ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
Note: The color of the solution in the picture does not indicate the real color of the
solution.

V. Observation/Discussion of Results

Name of Test Test Compound Result

Flammability Ethanol ● When the ethanol was

ignited in fire, the
flame spread easily.
● The color of the flame
has a mixture of blue
and orange.
● The combustion
period of ethanol is
long because it takes a
lot of seconds when
the fire depletes.
 Sodium Chloride (solution) ● The color of the flame
has a yellowish color.
● Compared to the
ethanol, the sodium
chloride solution has a
shorter period of
combustion

Charring Sucrose ● The color of the

substance turned
amber, then turned
black.

Potassium Chloride ● The substance retained

its white color.

Solubility (Distilled water) Benzoic acid ● Not or poorly soluble.

Naphthalene ● White substance did

not dissolve.

Sodium Chloride ● Highly soluble in

water.

Solubility (Petroleum ether) Benzoic acid ● Very soluble.

Naphthalene ● White substance did

disintegrate.

Sodium Chloride ● Greatly insoluble.

Electrical Conductivity Sucrose solution ● The bulb or the

conductivity device
does not light up when
the electrodes are
immersed in the
solution.
● It is unable to conduct
electricity.

Glycerol ● When the electrodes

 of the apparatus were
immersed on the
solution, the bulb did
not illuminate.
● The solution does not
conduct electricity

Sodium chloride solution ● When the electrodes

are immersed in the
solution, the bulb or
the conductivity
device illuminates.
● It has the ability to
conduct electricity.

Ethanol ● When the electrodes

of the conductivity
apparatus were
immersed in the
solution, the bulb did
not illuminate.
● The solution does not
conduct electricity

VI. Conclusions/Generalizations

Organic compounds can be gaseous, liquid, or solid, and they are usually present in
life forms, whereas inorganic compounds are often solids and come from nonliving things.
The first property is whenever organic compounds are heated, they burn and turn black.
Organic compounds are also more flammable and disintegrate more readily than inorganic
molecules when heated. Next, in terms of solubility, organic compounds are insoluble in
water but soluble in organic solvents. While inorganic compounds, they are soluble in water
but not in organic solvents. Finally, when it comes to electrical conductivity, organic
molecules tend to contain covalent bonds, making them poor conductors of electricity. While
inorganic molecules mainly have ionic bonds, which makes them capable of conducting
electricity. In addition, organic compounds are non electrolyte while inorganic compounds
are electrolytes.