One of the most basic facets of being a chemist is being able to look at two chemical species and predict whether or not they will react. You will find that most reactions, even the more elaborate organic reactions in your future, are based on the very simple chemical properties that you are learning about in this class.

In this lab experiment, we are exploring the property of electronegativity, an atom's ability to attract electrons towards itself. This property often contributes to the reactivity of molecules. Other concepts that are illustrated by the reactions of the halogens we will be studying, are the concepts of polarity and solubility. The existence of an electronegative atom in a molecule is required for a molecule to be polar. A molecule's solubility is dependent on its polarity. Thus knowledge of the simple concept of electronegativity allows you to make predictions about a molecule's solubility.

Because this lab is qualitative in nature rather than quantitative, there is no calculation and no measurements. Rather, we will be collecting colorimetric evidence. Colorimetric simply means you will be recording the colors observed for each of the halogens placed in the test tubes.