Electrolytes

[deleted388502]

EK 464 -

Which of the following statements is correct?

A. Strong electrolytes are highly soluble in water
B. Weak electrolytes are insoluble in water
C. The extent to which an electrolyte dissolves in solution does not indicate whether it is strong or weak
D. Most electrolytes are insoluble in water

Now super confused about the definition of an electrolyte, as I have always learned it as the degree of dissociation in solution/water and the answer to this is C. EK says that "Acetic acid dissociates a lot in solution and it is a weak electrolyte."

Can someone provide what we would use to determine a good electrolyte then? Like how would you determine whether something can "conduct electricity" well outside of its dissociation capability in solution for the purposes of the MCAT?

Thanks!

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[The Brown Knight]

The key difference is between SOLUBILITY and DISSOCIABILITY. Regardless of how much solute dissolves, does the amount that does dissolve DISSOCIATE fully, partially, or not at all?

strong electrolyte = something that dissolves fully and dissociates fully (e.g. NaCl); OR something that dissolves partially and whatever dissolves dissociates fully (e.g. AgCl, BaSO4, PbSO4, etc.)
weak electrolytes = something that dissolves fully and dissociates partially (e.g. acetic acid); OR dissolves partially and dissociates partially (someone can provide an example)
nonelectrolytes = something that dissolves fully/partially and doesn't dissociate into any ionic species (e.g. carbohydrates, lipids, cholesterol, etc.) or something that doesn't dissolve at all

 

[deleted388502]

Mmmmm makes sense! I was definitely confusing dissociability and solubility. Thanks!