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Chapter 4: Problem 13

You are given a water-soluble compound X. Describe how you would determine whether it is an electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte. If it is an electrolyte, how would you determine whether it is strong or weak? \(?\)

Short Answer

Expert verified
The compound X can be identified as an electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte by dissolving it in water and testing electrical conductivity of the solution. If the light bulb illuminates, it is an electrolyte. The intensity of light from the bulb can be used to determine if it is a strong or weak electrolyte, with brighter light indicating a strong electrolyte, and a dimmer light indicating a weak electrolyte.

Step by step solution

01

Identifying an Electrolyte vs. a Nonelectrolyte

Dissolve the compound X in water to create an aqueous solution. Then, complete an electrical conductivity test. This can be done by submerging the two leads of a lightbulb circuit into the solution. If the compound is an electrolyte, the solution will conduct electricity and the light bulb will light up. If it is a nonelectrolyte, it won't conduct electricity so the bulb won't light up.
02

Recognizing a Strong versus Weak Electrolyte

If the light bulb lit up in Step 1, this means the compound is an electrolyte. To ascertain whether it is a strong or weak electrolyte, you'll need to observe the brightness of the bulb. Strong electrolytes will cause the bulb to shine brightly, indicating a high degree of electrical conductivity, while weak electrolytes will make the bulb shine dimly, pointing to a lower degree of electrical conductivity.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A 0.8870 -g sample of a mixture of \(\mathrm{NaCl}\) and \(\mathrm{KCl}\) is dissolved in water, and the solution is then treated with an excess of \(\mathrm{AgNO}_{3}\) to yield \(1.913 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{AgCl}\). Calculate the percent by mass of each compound in the mixture.

Calculate the concentration (in molarity) of a \(\mathrm{NaOH}\) solution if \(25.0 \mathrm{~mL}\) of the solution are needed to neutralize \(17.4 \mathrm{~mL}\) of a \(0.312 \mathrm{M} \mathrm{HCl}\) solution.

Characterize the following compounds as soluble or insoluble in water: (a) \(\mathrm{CaCO}_{3}\) (b) \(\mathrm{ZnSO}_{4}\) (c) \(\mathrm{Hg}\left(\mathrm{NO}_{3}\right)_{2},\) (d) \(\mathrm{HgSO}_{4}\) (e) \(\mathrm{NH}_{4} \mathrm{ClO}_{4}\).

Distilled water must be used in the gravimetric analysis of chlorides. Why?

The passage of electricity through an electrolyte solution is caused by the movement of (a) electrons only, (b) cations only, (c) anions only, (d) both cations and anions.
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