Final answer:
Acetone and sodium chloride differ due to acetone's covalent bonding with weaker intermolecular forces and sodium chloride's ionic bonding with strong ionic bonds, leading to higher melting points for NaCl and differing electrical conductivity properties.
Step-by-step explanation:
Acetone and sodium chloride may have a similar mass but they have vastly different properties due to the nature of their chemical bonding and structure.
While acetone is a covalent compound with individual molecules held together by weaker intermolecular forces, sodium chloride is an ionic compound composed of cations (Na+) and anions (Cl-) arranged in a crystalline lattice with strong ionic bonds.
These differences lead to sodium chloride having a higher melting point and being electrically conductive when molten, since ionic compounds can conduct electricity due to the free movement of ions.
However, in the solid state, ions in ionic compounds are immobile, resulting in no electrical conductivity.
On the other hand, covalent compounds like acetone typically have lower melting points owing to the weaker attractions between molecules and do not conduct electricity due to the lack of free ions or charge carriers.