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Chapter 15: Problem 45

What is an electrolyte? What is a nonelectrolyte? Give some examples of each.

Short Answer

Expert verified
An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity when dissolved in water, as it dissociates into positive (cations) and negative (anions) ions. Examples of electrolytes include sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). On the other hand, a nonelectrolyte is a substance that does not conduct electricity when dissolved in water because it remains as molecules without an electric charge. Examples of nonelectrolytes include water (H2O), sugar (C12H22O11), and ethanol (C2H5OH).

Step by step solution

01

Definition of an electrolyte

An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity when dissolved in water. When an electrolyte dissolves in water, it dissociates into positive (cations) and negative (anions) ions. These ions are free to move and can conduct an electric current.
02

Definition of a nonelectrolyte

A nonelectrolyte is a substance that does not conduct electricity when dissolved in water. When a nonelectrolyte dissolves in water, it remains as molecules, not ions. These molecules do not conduct electricity because they do not have an electric charge.
03

Examples of electrolytes

Examples of electrolytes include common ionic compounds like sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). These substances dissociate in water, forming ions that can conduct electricity.
04

Examples of nonelectrolytes

Examples of nonelectrolytes include molecular substances such as water (H2O), sugar (C12H22O11), and ethanol (C2H5OH). These compounds do not dissociate into ions when dissolved in water, so they do not conduct electricity.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Write a chemical equation for the reaction between each pair of reactants, using single or double arrows as appropriate: (a) \(\mathrm{HCO}_{3}^{-}\) and \(\mathrm{OH}^{-}\) (b) \(\mathrm{HCl}\) and \(\mathrm{F}^{-}\) (c) \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{CO}_{3}\) and \(\mathrm{OH}^{-}\) (d) \(\mathrm{HCN}\) and \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\)

Hydrazine, \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{NNH}_{2}\), is a weak base that can accept two protons. Draw a dot diagram for hydrazine and write equations showing how this compound accepts protons from water in two steps.

Perchloric acid, \(\mathrm{HClO}_{4}\), is a strong acid. (a) Write the chemical equation for the reaction between perchloric acid and water. (b) List all species present in an aqueous solution of perchloric acid in order of concentration, highest to lowest. (c) Calculate the concentration of all species (except \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) ) present in a \(0.100 \mathrm{M} \mathrm{HClO}_{4}\) solution. (d) What is the \(\mathrm{pH}\) of this solution?

For each acid-base pair, write a balanced equation for the neutralization reaction: (a) Lithium hydroxide and hydroiodic acid (b) Acetic acid and sodium hydroxide (c) Hydrobromic acid and calcium hydroxide (d) Potassium hydroxide and phosphoric acid (assume all acidic protons react)

When water undergoes autoionization, is it serving as an acid, a base, or neither? Explain.
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