Several students were studying five compounds. They wanted to see if the compounds would conduct electricity when dissolved in water. A small sample of each compound was placed in a beaker, and 100 mL of pure water was added. Each sample dissolved in the water. A conductivity tester was placed in each beaker. A glowing green bulb meant the sample was a conductor. A glowing red bulb meant the sample was not a conductor.

Question

Several students were studying five compounds. They wanted to see if the compounds would conduct electricity when dissolved in water. A small sample of each compound was placed in a beaker, and 100 mL of pure water was added. Each sample dissolved in the water. A conductivity tester was placed in each beaker. A glowing green bulb meant the sample was a conductor. A glowing red bulb meant the sample was not a conductor.
A Conductivity Tester Red bulb
Green bulb
The students recorded the results in a data table.
Conductivity Test of Five Compounds
Compound
NaI
СНО
Zn(NO3)2
Observation
Green bulb glowed.
Red bulb glowed.
Green bulb glowed.
Li2SO
Green bulb glowed.
CH,OH
Red bulb glowed.Using the data table and a periodic table, which three of these compounds are most likely to be conductors of electricity?
M. NaCl
P. K2SO4
R. C12H24012
S. C2H2OH
T. Sr(NO3)2

GPT-4o mini · Answer

To determine which of the listed compounds are most likely to be conductors of electricity when dissolved in water, we can analyze the data already provided. The results indicate that the compounds that glowed the green bulb (conductors) were:

NaI (sodium iodide)
Zn(NO3)2 (zinc nitrate)
Li2SO4 (lithium sulfate)

These compounds dissociate into ions when dissolved in water, which allows them to conduct electricity.

Now, let’s analyze the new compounds listed:

NaCl (sodium chloride): This compound is a well-known ionic compound that dissociates completely into Na+ and Cl- ions in solution, making it a very good conductor of electricity.
K2SO4 (potassium sulfate): This is also an ionic compound that dissociates into K+ and SO4^2- ions in water, rendering it capable of conducting electricity.
C12H24012 (common sugar, likely sucrose): This is a covalent compound and does not dissociate into ions in water; therefore, it would not conduct electricity (red bulb).
C2H2OH (ethanol): Ethanol is also a covalent compound and does not dissociate into ions, meaning it will not be a conductor of electricity (red bulb).
Sr(NO3)2 (strontium nitrate): This ionic compound would dissociate into Sr^2+ and NO3^- ions in solution, making it a good conductor of electricity.

Based on this analysis, the three compounds from the original list most likely to be conductors of electricity are:

NaCl
K2SO4
Sr(NO3)2