Question

Which of the following best explains why electrolyte solutions conduct electricity?

Answer 1

Answer: option C. the presence of free-flowing ions.


Explanation:


Ionic compounds dissociate in water forming solutions with free ions. The solution conducts electricity and is named electrolyte.


The ions are species with charge: cations are ions with positive charge and anions are ions with negative charge.


The ions become the carrier of the charge so they are the responsible for the flow of current.


So as the electrons are the carriers of the charge in the solid conductors (copper, aluminun, and others), the ions are the carriers of the charge in solutions.That is how the the electrolyte solutons conduct electricity.

Answer 2

The statement that completely describes ability of electrolyte solution to conduct electricity is:

$\boxed{{\text{C: the presence of free flowing ions}}}$

Further explanation:

An electrolyte may be defined as the ionic compound that on dissolution in polar solvents dissociates to produce cationic and anionic species. Movement of such ionic species is responsible for the property of electrolyte to conduct electricity.

There are two kinds of electrolyte namely strong electrolyte and weak electrolyte. The strong electrolytes are those which on dissolution dissociates completely into its constituent ions however, the weak electrolytes are not completely dissociated into its constituent ions but undergo partial dissociation. Hence the strong electrolytes are better conductors of electricity as compared to weak electrolyte.

All the ionic compounds can behave as electrolytes when they are dissolved in water. In solid form, the ionic compounds cannot conduct electricity since the ions are not able to move freely however, once dissolved in aqueous solution their ions can move and produce current. For instance, the aqueous solution of sodium chloride dissociates to give sodium cation and chloride ions. The dissociation can be represented as follows:  

${\text{NaCl}}\left(s\right)\to{\text{N}}{{\text{a}}^+}\left({aq}\right)+{\text{C}}{{\text{l}}^-}\left({aq}\right)$

This flow of ions and the consequent production of electric current leads to the applications in electrochemistry and synthesis of batteries and fuel cells.

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Answer details:

Grade: High school

Subject: Chemistry

Chapter: Ionic compounds

Keywords: Electrolyte, strong electrolyte, weak electrolyte, ionic compound, dissolution, cationic, anionic species, aqueous solution, solid form, current, fuel cells, electrochemistry, batteries.