Question

Explain why some electrolyte solutions are strongly conducting, whereas others are weakly conducting.

Short answer

Strong electrolytes fully dissociate into ions, leading to high conductivity, while weak electrolytes partially dissociate, resulting in low conductivity.

Step-by-step solution

Understand Electrolytes

Electrolytes are substances that dissolve in water to produce a solution that conducts electricity. These include salts, acids, and bases. Understanding that the basis of conductivity in an electrolyte solution comes from the presence of mobile ions is crucial.

Differentiate Between Strong and Weak Electrolytes

Electrolytes can be categorized into strong and weak electrolytes. Strong electrolytes dissociate completely into ions when dissolved in water, whereas weak electrolytes only partially dissociate.

Conductivity of Strong Electrolytes

Since strong electrolytes dissociate completely, they produce a large number of ions in solution. The abundance of mobile ions means that strong electrolyte solutions are highly conductive.

Conductivity of Weak Electrolytes

Weak electrolytes only partially dissociate in solution, resulting in far fewer ions. The reduced number of mobile ions results in weak conductivity.

Factors Influencing Electrolyte Conductivity

Other factors influencing conductivity include ion concentration and the presence of other substances in the solution. However, the primary determinant is the degree of dissociation into ions.

Key concepts

Understanding Strong Electrolytes

Strong electrolytes are substances that, when dissolved in water, dissociate completely into ions. This means that 100% of the dissolved substance breaks apart into positively and negatively charged ions. These ions move freely in the solution, which allows for a high level of electrical conductivity.

You can think of ions as charged particles, and when they move, they create an electric current. Because strong electrolytes completely dissociate, there are numerous ions present, facilitating this movement and resulting in a highly conductive solution.

Examples of strong electrolytes include common salts like sodium chloride ( NaCl ), strong acids like hydrochloric acid ( HCl ), and strong bases like sodium hydroxide ( NaOH extnormal{).
Here are some key characteristics of strong electrolytes:

• Complete ion dissociation in water.
• High degree of conductivity.
• Examples include strong acids, bases, and salts.

Understanding Weak Electrolytes

Weak electrolytes are substances that only partially dissociate into ions when dissolved in water. This partial dissociation means that only a small fraction of the dissolved substance breaks into ions, leaving the majority of the substance as neutral molecules in the solution.

As there are fewer ions available to move and conduct electricity, weak electrolytes result in solutions that are much less conductive than those of strong electrolytes. The overall conductivity is relatively low because not all the substance is contributing ions that facilitate current flow.

Typical examples of weak electrolytes include acetic acid ( CH_3COOH extnormal{) and ammonia ( NH_3 extnormal{), which both dissociate partially in water:

• Only partial ion dissociation.
• Lower conductivity compared to strong electrolytes.
• Examples include weak acids and bases.

Exploring Ion Dissociation

Ion dissociation is the process by which a compound splits into its constituent ions when dissolved in water. This process is crucial to understanding why some solutions conduct electricity better than others.

For a substance to act as an electrolyte, it must undergo dissociation such that its ions can move freely in the solution. When strong electrolytes dissociate completely, they maximize the number of free ions, hence enhancing conductivity tremendously. In contrast, when weak electrolytes dissociate only partially, fewer ions are available to facilitate electrical flow.

The degree of ion dissociation determines the conductivity of the solution. It explains why an understanding of strong vs. weak electrolytes is so critical in predicting the behavior of different solutions:

• Complete dissociation leads to more ions and stronger conductivity.
• Partial dissociation results in fewer ions and weaker conductivity.
• Important in applications such as batteries and electrolysis.