Red litmus paper

Blue litmus paper

Why does a neutral salt still conduct electricity?
NaCl => The sodium chloride solution is regarded as a neutral solution because even though it is a strong
electrolyte, it is considered Neutral.

Although aqueous Sodium Chloride is completely dissociated in water due to the ion-dipole
interaction with water, it produces equal amount of H+(aq) and OH-(aq) ions.

H2O
𝑵𝒂𝑪𝒍(𝒔) → 𝑵𝒂+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑪𝒍−(𝒂𝒒)

As seen in the equation, the sodium ions react with water molecules to produce sodium
hydroxide, which is a strong base, so it ultimately dissociates into sodium ions back again.

𝑵𝒂+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) ⇌ 𝑵𝒂𝑶𝑯(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯+

(𝒂𝒒)

𝑵𝒂𝑶𝑯(𝒂𝒒) → 𝑵𝒂+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−

(𝒂𝒒)

Similarly, the chloride ions on reacting with water form hydrochloric acid which is a strong acid,
so it too dissociates into chloride ions back again, as can be seen in the following two
equations;
𝑪𝒍−(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) ⇌ 𝑯𝑪𝒍(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−
(𝒂𝒒)

𝑯𝑪𝒍(𝒂𝒒) → 𝑯+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑪𝒍−

(𝒂𝒒)

Although aqueous Sodium Chloride is completely dissociated in water due to the ion-dipole
interaction with water, it produces equal amount of H+(aq) and OH-(aq) ions.
Neutralization Reaction:
𝑯𝑪𝒍(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑵𝒂𝑶𝑯(𝒂𝒒) → 𝑵𝒂𝑪𝒍(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍)

𝑯+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑪𝒍− + − + −
(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑵𝒂 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯(𝒂𝒒) → 𝑵𝒂 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑪𝒍(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍)

𝑯+ −
(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯(𝒂𝒒) → 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍)

𝑯𝟑 𝑶+ (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−
(𝒂𝒒) → 𝟐𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍)

(Source: Helmenstine, 2022)

Conductivity:
Lactic Acid

𝑯𝑪𝟑 𝑯𝟓 𝑶𝟑 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) ⇌ 𝑪𝟑 𝑯𝟓 𝑶𝟑 −(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟑 𝑶+(𝒂𝒒)

Nitric Acid https://techiescientist.com/ph-of-
nacl/#:~:text=It%20is%20neither%20acidic%20nor,NaCl%20with%20ph%20value%207.

𝑯𝑵𝑶𝟑 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) → 𝑵𝑶𝟑 −(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟑 𝑶+(𝒂𝒒)

KOH
H2O
𝑲𝑶𝑯(𝒔) → 𝑲+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−(𝒂𝒒)

NaOH
H2O
𝑵𝒂𝑶𝑯(𝒔) → 𝑵𝒂+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−(𝒂𝒒)

(Source: Chang & Overby, 2019)

1st slide
In one of the previous lab experiments, it was found out that free ions are responsible for
as mentioned by Ely of group 1
the electric conductivity of solutions. The degree of ionization or dissociation differs between
acids and bases. This backs up the statement that not all acids and bases have the same ability to
produce H+ and OH- ions in solution. As a result, the words "strong" and "weak" are used to
could be
characterize how well acid and base solutions conduct electricity.
If the acid or base conducts electricity well, it is considered strong. If the acid or base
conducts electricity slightly, it is considered weak. When a solution did not conduct electricity at
all, it is considered as neutral. In other words, when a solution is a strong electrolyte, it is a strong
acid or base. When a solution is a weak electrolyte, it is a weak acid or base. Lastly when a solution
is a nonelectrolyte, it is neutral. However, there are some exceptions to this such as the case of
the sodium chloride solution.
2nd slide
Seen in the slides are the chemical reactions of the different samples.

𝑯𝑪𝟑 𝑯𝟓 𝑶𝟑 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) ⇌ 𝑪𝟑 𝑯𝟓 𝑶𝟑 −(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟑 𝑶+(𝒂𝒒)

The first equation tells us that in the forward reaction, lactic acid reacts with water to produce
lactate ion and Hydronium ion. In the reverse reaction, lactate combines with the hydronium
ion to produce water and lactic acid.

𝑯𝑵𝑶𝟑 (𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶(𝒍) → 𝑵𝑶𝟑 −(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑯𝟑 𝑶+(𝒂𝒒)

The second equation reveals that nitric acid reacts with water to produce Nitrate ion and
Hydronium ion.
H2O
𝑲𝑶𝑯(𝒔) → 𝑲+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−(𝒂𝒒)

The third equation shows us that solid potassium hydroxide completely dissociates into
potassium ion and hydroxide ion when dissolved in water.
H2O
𝑵𝒂𝑶𝑯(𝒔) → 𝑵𝒂+(𝒂𝒒) + 𝑶𝑯−(𝒂𝒒)

The fourth equation tells us that solid sodium hydroxide completely dissociates into sodium ion
and hydroxide ion when dissolved in water.
As observed in the equations, there are formation of ions. In other words, the solution
dissociated into ions which means that conductivity is possible. However, only equation 1 is a
reversible reaction. This suggests that the lactic acid solution ionize only partially with water. the
conjugate base (which is the lactate) is able to re-gain the proton from the hydronium ion to
reform lactic acid. In other words, the solution contains multiple charged and uncharged species
hence it is a weak electrolyte therefore it is considered as a weak acid.
 Furthermore, in the other chemical equation, the reaction was irreversible. This suggests
full ionization hence they are strong electrolytes. Because of this, Nitric acid is considered as a
strong acid and Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide are considered as strong bases.
3rd slide
As stated earlier, sodium chloride is an exemption of the statement about strong
electrolytes being strong acids or bases. According to Wu et al., Salts that are from strong bases
and strong acids do not hydrolyze. Which means that the pH will remain neutral. Halides and
alkaline metals dissociate and do not affect the H+ as the cation does not alter the H+ and the
anion does not attract the H+ from water. They also stated that Salts containing halides (except
Fluoride ion) and an alkaline metal (except Beryllium cation) will dissociate into spectator ions.
This is further supported by the neutralization reaction of Hydrochloric acid and Sodium
Hydroxide which is an example of a strong acid and a strong base. As seen in equation 6,
Hydrochloric acid reacts with aqueous sodium hydroxide to produce aqueous sodium chloride
and water. The net ionic equation is written in equation 6.1. The spectator ions, which are sodium
cation and chloride ion, are ignored and removed. Since hydrogen ion occurs in aqueous solution
as hydronium ion, the best equation to represent the net ionic equation is Equation 6.2.
4th slide
However, it is important to note that not all salts are neutral. Wu et al. stated that there
are several guiding principles to determine whether a salt solution will be acidic, basic, or neutral.
The principle is summarized as seen in the slide.