(a) Why do acids not show acidic behavior in the absence of water?
(b) Why does an aqueous solution of an acid conduct electricity?
(c) Why does distilled water not conduct electricity whereas rainwater does?
(a) Why do acids not show acidic behavior in the absence of water?
(b) Why does an aqueous solution of an acid conduct electricity?
(c) Why does distilled water not conduct electricity whereas rainwater does?
(a) The acidic behavior of a substance is due to the presence of H+(aq) ions. As acids do not dissociate to produce H+(aq) ions in the absence of water so they do not show acidic behavior.
(b) An aqueous solution of an acid conducts electricity because of the presence of H+ ions in solution. The hydrogen ion is a charged species and its movement causes the flow of current
Take hydrochloric acid for example:
An acid is essentially a substance, that splits into a proton (H+) and a negative anion (Cl−) in aqueous solutions. The proton takes the role of a “transmitter“ it leads electrons (e−) through the liquid.
(c) Distilled water does not contain any dissolved ions which can conduct electricity by acting as a carrier of electric charge and hence they do not conduct electricity while rainwater has ions dissolved in it and hence it conducts electricity.
(a) The acidic behavior of a substance is due to the presence of H+(aq) ions. As acids do not dissociate to produce H+(aq) ions in the absence of water so they do not show acidic behavior.
(b) An aqueous solution of an acid conducts electricity because of the presence of H+ ions in solution. The hydrogen ion is a charged species and its movement causes the flow of current
Take hydrochloric acid for example:
An acid is essentially a substance, that splits into a proton (H+) and a negative anion (Cl−) in aqueous solutions. The proton takes the role of a “transmitter“ it leads electrons (e−) through the liquid.
(c) Distilled water does not contain any dissolved ions which can conduct electricity by acting as a carrier of electric charge and hence they do not conduct electricity while rainwater has ions dissolved in it and hence it conducts electricity.
