Republic of the Philippines

SULTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY

ACCESS Campus, EJC Montilla
Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat

Names:________________________________________________ Date: ________________

________________________________________________ Group #: _____________
________________________________________________ Crs & Year:___________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

ACTIVITY NO.3
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ELECTROLYTES AND NON-ELECTROLYTES

OBJECTIVE
To observe the conductivity of some solutions

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The physical properties of a solution such as viscosity, density, color, etc, depend upon
the nature of its solute particles. Solutions also exhibit electrical properties. These are dependent
upon the number and the nature of the charged particles within the solution which move between
electrodes under the influence of an electric current. Substances whose aqueous solutions are
capable of conducting an electric current are called electrolytes. These electrolytes produce
positively-charged ions called cations and negatively –charged ions called anions. Those that
are completely or almost completely ionized are classified as strong electrolytes, while those
that produce comparatively few ions are weak electrolytes.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

MATERIALS

250 mL Erlenmeyer flask 50 ml beakers

Thermomete 400 mL beaker
Electrical Conductivity apparatus

REAGENTS

Distilled water 17 M CH3COOH sodium chloride (solid)

Tap water 1 M CH3COOH sucrose (solid)
12 M HCl Ice 5 % sucrose solutions
1 M NaOH 1 M NaCl 1 M NH4OH
1 M HCl 95 % C2H5OH Conc. H2SO4
1 M NH4Cl 1 M H2SO4 Phenolphthalein solution

METHODOLOGY

A. Electrical Properties of Solutions – Electrolytes and Non-electrolytes

1. Fill 100 mL beakers up to about 2/3 full with different samples of the following:
Distilled water 95 % C2H5OH sodium chloride (solid)
Tap water 1 M NaCl sucrose (solid)
12 M HCl Conc. H2SO4 5 % sucrose solutions
1 M NaOH 1 M H2SO4 1 M NH4Cl
1 M HCl 17 M CH3COOH 1 M CH3COOH
Kalamansi juice
 2. Dip the electrodes of the conductivity meter approximately 2 cm apart into the solution
(please refer to Fig. 1). Wash the electrolytes with distilled water before dipping them
into the samples.

Figure 1 Figure 2

3. Observe the brightness (no light, dim, and bright) of the bulb when the electrodes are
dipped into the samples.

B. Reacting Systems

1. Place 6 ml of 1 M sodium hydroxide in a 50 ml beaker and place an equal amount of 1M

acetic acid in another 50 ml beaker. Test the conductivity of each solution. Add 1 drop of
phenolphthalein indicator to 1M acetic acid and gradually pour the 1M sodium hydroxide
solution into it while stirring until there is the appearance of a faint pink color. Determine
the conductivity of the mixture.

Figure 3
 ACTIVITY NO.3
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ELECTROLYTES AND NON-ELECTROLYTES

Names:________________________________________________ Score: ___________

________________________________________________ Date: ____________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

DATA AND RESULTS

A. Electrical Properties

Solutions Observation on the brightness Classification (weak, strong,

of light (no light, dim, bright) non-electrolyte)
Tap water

Distilled water

12 M HCl

1 M HCl

1 M NaOH

1 M NH4Cl

95 % ethanol

Sodium chloride crystals

1 M NaCl

Conc. H2SO4

1 M H2SO4

17 M CH3COOH

1 M CH3COOH

Kalamansi Juice

B. Reacting Systems

Observation on brightness Classification (weak, strong,

of light non-electrolyte)
1 M NaOH

1 M CH3COOH

1 M NaOH +
1 M CH3COOH
GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. Distinguish between a strong and weak electrolyte with reference to the degree of
dissociation into ions.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. What makes an electrolyte an electric current conductor when in a solution?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. Define ionic compounds.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________