Simple chem question...

[Enso]

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When the following substances are dissolved in water at equal concentrations, which will give the solution the lowest electrical conductivity?

NH3
C6H12O6 (Glucose)
CO2

I canceled out NH3 but I'm stuck between the two carbon compounds? I assumed both wouldn't conduct any electricity. So is it glucose or carbon dioxide?

 

[iwannabadentist]

it will be glucose because CO2 will dissociate into 1 C and 2 Os. so the order of conductivity at the same concentrations would be NH3 > Glucose > CO2

 

[joonkimdds]

what determines the electrical conductivitiy???

 

[PooyaH]

They both would dissolve in water. CO2 would give you carbonic acid, bicarbonate ions, and carbonate ions in water. But I think Glucose is a lot more polar than CO2 and would result in higher electrical conductivity!

 

[Enso]

Well we got one for glucose and one for CO2,

Could we consider that the carbon in CO2 has a stronger bond with the oxygen compared with the carbon in glucose thus the ions of CO2 would be most resistant to dissociating its ions and conducting electricity? I might not be making much sense but just throwing around thoughts.

 

[PooyaH]

Well we got one for glucose and one for CO2,

Could we consider that the carbon in CO2 has a stronger bond with the oxygen compared with the carbon in glucose thus the ions of CO2 would be most resistant to dissociating its ions and conducting electricity? I might not be making much sense but just throwing around thoughts.

Well Carbon dioxide is not very polar due to symmetry! O=C=O and it won't be very soluble in water! Glucose on the other hand is a table sugar which has a lot of OH bonds which increase solubility in water, and as a result it would conduct electricity more than CO2 would! In this case, it doesn't have anything to do with bond strength!

 

[iwannabadentist]

joon - electrical conductivity is determined by the solubility of a substance in a solvent. The more soluble a compound is (greater Ksp), the higher the electrical conductivity of that solution will be.
pooyah - ur right, glucose is more soluble in water than CO2. The question is asking which will give the LOWEST electrical conductivity...and since CO2 is less soluble, it will have the lowest electrical conductivity.

 

[PooyaH]

joon - electrical conductivity is determined by the solubility of a substance in a solvent. The more soluble a compound is (greater Ksp), the higher the electrical conductivity of that solution will be.
pooyah - ur right, glucose is more soluble in water than CO2. The question is asking which will give the LOWEST electrical conductivity...and since CO2 is less soluble, it will have the lowest electrical conductivity.

haha you edited your answer didn't you!? LOL ;-) yes I know the question was asking which one has the lowest electrical conductivity in water and I just said that glucose would have a higher electrical conductivity which would make CO2 the one with lower electrical conductivity! lol

 

[iwannabadentist]

haha you edited your answer didn't you!? LOL ;-) yes I know the question was asking which one has the lowest electrical conductivity in water and I just said that glucose would have a higher electrical conductivity which would make CO2 the one with lower electrical conductivity! lol

**sighh** you caught me! i was thinking of colligative properties and which would would dissociate more in water - but then i realized this has nothing to do with electrical conductive. but yes, now i think you and I are on the same page!

 

[PooyaH]

**sighh** you caught me! i was thinking of colligative properties and which would would dissociate more in water - but then i realized this has nothing to do with electrical conductive. but yes, now i think you and I are on the same page!

👍

 

[DoctaWalnuts]

my guess was CO2 would be the lowest, no polarity. What's the answer?

 

[PooyaH]

my guess was CO2 would be the lowest, no polarity. What's the answer?

It's CO2! I bet on it! lol jk