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Question

Why does impure water conduct electricity whereas pure water does not?

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Solution


Pure water is made up of H2O molecules which have polar covalent bonds. This means is that the electrons needed to make water are shared between one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. Now to carry electric current, a solution needs to have ions. An ionic compound such as NaCl loses its bond between the positive charged (cation) sodium atom and the negative charged (anion), and if there is enough salt, then it makes a "bridge" of ions for the electricity to go through in the water.

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