MA, PAULINE Date Performed: 1 OCTOBER 2014

NACIONGAYO, DANIELLE Date Submitted: 8 OCTOBER 2014

TEDERA, YVES
CONDUCTIVITY EXPERIMENT
Experiment No. 5
I. Results
A. Determination of Conductivity
In this experiment, conductivity of different solutions was tested using a
conductivity apparatus. In a closed circuit, the solution is said to be an electrolyte
if the bulb lights up. If the bulb doesnt light up, the solution is a non-electrolyte.
The result of the conductivity experiment is shown in Table 1.

MATERIALS DEGREE OF
BRIGHTNESS
CLASSIFICATION
Dry NaCl The bulb didnt light up /
No light
Non-electrolyte / Non-
conductor
0.1 M NaCl solution Very bright Strong electrolyte
0.1 M KOH solution Very Bright Strong electrolyte
0.1 M NaOH solution Bright Strong electrolyte
0.1 M NH
4
OH solution Dim / Just a spark Weak electrolyte
Distilled Water The bulb didnt light up /
No light
Non-electrolyte / Non-
conductor
Tap Water Dim Weak electrolyte
0.1 M HCl solution Bright Strong electrolyte
0.1 M NH
4
Cl solution Bright Strong electrolyte

Here are a few pictures of the conductivity apparatus taken during the
experiment. Two materials, Dry NaCl and Distilled Water, did not conduct
electricity.

Dry NaCl 0.1 M NaCl 0.1 M KOH 0.1 M NaOH




B. Identification of Ions
0.10 M
solutions of
Formula Color of
Solution
POSITIVE ION NEGATIVE ION
Formula Color Formula Color
Potassium
hydroxide
KOH Colorless K Colorless OH Colorless
Hydrochloric
acid
HCl Colorless H Colorless Cl Colorless
Sulfuric acid H
2
SO
4
Colorless H Colorless SO
4
Colorless
Potassium
chromate
K
2
CrO
4
Yellow K Colorless CrO
4
Yellow
Copper (II)
sulfate
CuSO
4
Blue Cu Blue SO
4
Colorless
Iron (III)
chloride
FeCl
3
Orange Fe Orange Cl Colorless
Cobalt (II)
nitrate
Co(NO
3
)
2
Red Co Red NO
3
Colorless
Nitric acid HNO
3
Colorless H Colorless NO
3
Colorless

Here are a few photographs of the solutions used in the identification of ions
experiment.

0.1 M NH
4
OH Distilled H
2
O Tap H
2
O 0.1 M HCl
CuSO
4
FeCl
3
H
2
SO
4
HCl



II. Discussion
A. Determination of Conductivity
Conductivity is the ability of a solution, a metal or a gas - in brief all
materials - to pass an electric current. In solutions the current is carried by cations
and anions whereas in metals it is carried by electrons. All substances possess
some degree of conductivity. In aqueous solutions the level of ionic strength
varies from the low conductivity of ultra pure water to the high conductivity of
concentrated chemical samples.
Pure water does not conduct electricity very well. However, when certain
substances are dissolved in water, the solution does conduct electricity.
Conductivity is typically measured in aqueous solutions of electrolytes.
Electrolytes are substances containing ions, i.e. solutions of ionic salts or of
compounds that ionize in solution. The ions formed in solution are responsible for
carrying the electric current. Electrolytes include acids, bases and salts and can be
either strong or weak. A strong electrolyte is a compound that will completely
dissociate into ions in water. Correspondingly, a weak electrolyte dissolves only
partially. The conductivity of an electrolyte solution depends on concentration of
the ionic species and behaves differently for strong and weak electrolytes.
Strong electrolytes are substances that are fully ionized in solution. As a
result, the concentration of ions in solution is proportional to the concentration of
the electrolyte added. They include ionic solids and strong acids, for example HCl
and NaCl. Solutions of strong electrolytes conduct electricity because the positive
and negative ions can migrate largely independently under the influence of an
electric field.
Weak electrolytes are substances that are not fully ionized in solution. For
example, acetic acid partially dissociates into acetate ions and hydrogen ions, so
that an acetic acid solution contains both molecules and ions. A solution of a
weak electrolyte can conduct electricity, but usually not as well as a strong
electrolyte because there are fewer ions to carry the charge from one electrode to
the other.
Non-electrolytes are substances that do not dissociate into ions when in
solution, and therefore is a poor conductor of electricity when in solution. Non-
electrolytes cannot readily conduct electricity because the solute molecules are
HNO
3

K
2
CrO
4
KOH

typically held together by covalent rather than ionic bonds. This leads to an
inability to dissociate when dissolved. Ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol are non-
electrolytes. None of the CH
3
OH or CH
3
CH
2
OH molecules dissociate and form
ions.

B. Identification of Ions
Electrolytes dissociate into component ions in an aqueous solution. Many
compounds are white and form colorless solutions but some ions form compounds
with characteristic colors. Therefore, the color of the solution depends on the
color of the ions used.
In an aqueous solution, the color that is visible to us is combination of the
colors of the ions of that electrolyte. For example, hydrochloric acid is colorless
due to the fact that its component ions are both colorless. Similar to HCl,
potassium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid also have colorless solutions.
Copper sulfate is blue, since copper ion is blue. Potassium chromate is yellow
because chromate ion is yellow. Iron (III) chloride should be orange in color since
ferric ions are orange. But, the stock solution that was used was yellow. This is
probably because the solution was not mixed thoroughly. Differences in the
intensity of color would probably be caused by the different dilutions and
concentrations of the solutions.

III. Answers to Questions
1. Substances that can be considered as good conductors are solutions with strong
electrolytes.
2. Conductivity depends upon the concentration of the ions in the solution.
3. Electrolytes in solutions dissociate into component ions. In other words, they are
being ionized.
4. Since electrolytes dissociate into ions, these ions carry charges from one electrode
to another. Thus, it conducts electricity.
5. Weak electrolytes do not ionize completely, whereas strong electrolytes fully
dissociate into ions.
6. Concentrated solutions contain a larger amount of dissolved substances known as
solutes while dilute substances contain greater amount of solvent, usually water.
7. Not all concentrated solutions are strong electrolytes. Like in the experiment,
concentrated acetic acid is used which is a weak electrolyte.
8. Dilute solutions are not all weak electrolytes. A dilute HCl is still a strong
electrolyte.



IV. Conclusion

Pure water does not conduct electricity, but any solvated ionic species would
contribute to conduction of electricity. An ionically conducting solution is called an
electrolyte solution and the compound, which produces the ions as it dissolves, is
called an electrolyte. A strong electrolyte is a compound that will completely
dissociate into ions in water. Correspondingly, a weak electrolyte dissolves only
partially. The conductivity of an electrolyte solution depends on concentration of the
ionic species and behaves differently for strong and weak electrolytes.
Electrolytes dissociate into component ions in an aqueous solution. The color of
the solution depends on the color of the different ions. In an aqueous solution, the
color that is visible to us is combination of the colors of the ions of that electrolyte.

V. References
Brown, T., LeMay, H.E., Bursten, B., Murphy, C., & P. Woodward, (2009).
Chemistry: The Central Science (11th ed.) Pearson Education, Inc.
Chang, R., (2000). Physical chemistry for the chemical and biological
sciences, University Science Books, Sausalito, California.
Petrucci, Harwood, Herring, Madura. General Chemistry: Principles &
Modern Applications. (9
th
ed). Pearson Education, Inc.