We'll look at what happens when you dissolve ionic and covalent compounds in water. Ionic compounds break apart into the ions that make them up, a process called dissociation, while covalent compounds only break into the molecules, not the individual atoms.When you immerse an ionic compound in water, the ions are attracted to the water molecules, each of which carries a polar charge. If the attraction between the ions and the water molecules is great enough to break the bonds holding the ions together, the compound dissolves