Question

Distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity. On the other hand, tap water is a good conductor of electricity. What makes the difference?

• A. Tap water has extra electrons.
• B. Impurities in tap water have ions.
• C. Tap water has static electricity.
• D. Tap water has a conductor in it.

Answer 1

The correct option is B Impurities in tap water have ions.

• A liquid can conduct electricity only if it has ions present in it.
• In tap water, rainwater and seawater, there are impurities that contains ions of sodium ($N{a}^{+}$), calcium ($C{a}^{2+}$), and magnesium ($M{g}^{2+}$).
• In distilled water, however, there are no impurities and therefore no ions.

Thus, distilled water is unable to conduct electricity.