Question

Pure water and pure salt are poor conductors of electricity. When salt is dissolved in water, the resulting solution conducts electricity well. Which statement explains why this occurs with these substances?(1 point)
Responses

The process of dissolving more closely binds the electrons in the solution.
The process of dissolving more closely binds the electrons in the solution.

The process of dissolving frees the electrons in the solution to move.
The process of dissolving frees the electrons in the solution to move.

The process of dissolving frees the atoms in the solution to move.
The process of dissolving frees the atoms in the solution to move.

The process of dissolving closely binds the ions in the solution.

Answer 1

Neither electrons nor neutral atoms are what carry current in an aqueous salt solution — dissolved salt dissociates into charged ions (Na+, Cl−) that are free to move and carry electric charge. So the correct statement is:

"The process of dissolving produces free ions in the solution that can move."

(If you must choose from the given choices, none of them exactly says this; the correct choice would mention ions, not electrons or neutral atoms.)