Give an example of a covalent compound that, upon dissolving in water, yields ions. Write a reaction to show this transformation and classify the starting compound.

Short Answer

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An example of a covalent compound that dissolves in water and produces ions is hydrogen chloride (HCl). The dissolution of hydrogen chloride in water can be represented by the following balanced reaction: \[ HCl_{(g)} + H_2O_{(l)} \rightarrow H_3O^+_{(aq)} + Cl^-_{(aq)} \] The starting compound, hydrogen chloride (HCl), can be classified as a simple covalent binary compound and as an acid (hydrochloric acid) when dissolved in water.

Step by step solution

01

Identify a covalent compound that dissolves in water and produces ions

A good example of such a compound is hydrogen chloride (HCl), which is a covalent compound since hydrogen and chlorine are both nonmetal elements. When hydrogen chloride dissolves in water, it ionizes to produce hydrogen ions (H+) and chloride ions (Cl-). Now that we have identified hydrogen chloride (HCl) as our compound, we can write the balanced reaction for its dissolution in water.
02

Write the balanced reaction for the dissolution of the chosen compound in water

When hydrogen chloride (HCl) dissolves in water, the reaction can be represented as: \[ HCl_{(g)} + H_2O_{(l)} \rightarrow H_3O^+_{(aq)} + Cl^-_{(aq)} \] Finally, we will classify our starting compound - hydrogen chloride (HCl).
03

Classify the starting compound

Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is categorized as a simple covalent binary compound. It consists of two nonmetal elements, hydrogen and chlorine, bound together by sharing a pair of electrons. Additionally, it is also an acid, known as hydrochloric acid, when dissolved in water.

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