Chemistry 101 Lab: Experiment #1 — Conductivity of Solutions

Introduction:
A chemical compound is made up of two or more elements. Compounds can be categorized as
either ionic or molecular. An Ionic compound is formed from the electrical attraction between
anions and cations, typically a metal with a non-metal (one exception being hydrogen). When
an ionic compound forms, the anion transfers an electron to the cation which creates an
electrostatic bond and an electrically neutral compound. Other characteristics of Ionic
compounds are that they readily dissolve in aqueous solutions and that they are good
conductors of heat and electricity. Further, ionic compounds can be classified as either strong
conductors or weak conductors.

In contrast, molecular compounds are formed from non-metals. Molecular compounds share
electrons between atoms forming a covalent bond. In general, molecular compounds do not
dissolve readily in solution and are poor conductors of heat and electricity. They are classified
as non-electrolyte compounds.

The factors that determine the electrical conductivity of a given compound in solution include the
degree of its solubility in that solvent, the total ionic molar concentration, and the concentration
of the compound in the solution.

Objective:
The purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate the differences in electrical
conductivity between ionic compounds and molecular compounds, both qualitatively
and quantitatively. Each compound tested was also categorized as either a weak
electrolyte, a strong electrolyte, or a non-electrolyte (ie. molecular compound).
Compounds were compared based upon their degree of conductivity.

Methods:
In the first experiment, the conductivity of various solutions of the same concentration
were determined and compared. First, the conductivity of distilled water and tap water
were measured as comparative controls. Then, the conductivity of 0.05M solutions of
CH3OH, C2H6O2, H3BO3, CH3COOH, KBr, and HCl were measured. The conductivity
values were then used to classify each as a non-electrolyte, a weak electrolyte, or a
molecular compound.

In the second experiment, the effect of a compound’s concentration on its conductivity

was determined by varying the concentration of each. First, the conductivity of a 1.0M
solution of each compound was measured. Then, the conductivity of increasingly more
concentrated solutions of were measured. Nine data points in total were recorded. This
procedure was performed with solutions of CH3OH, AlCl3, CaCl2, and NaCl. The
conductivity of each compound at varying concentrations were compared, as were the
individual compounds compared to each other. Linear regression analysis was
performed to determine the best fit slope for each graph. The greater the slope for a given
compound, the better the conductor.

Experimental Data and Graphs:

Experiment A:

Data Analysis (in decreasing order of conductivity):

Compound Electrical Conductivity

0.05M HCl 19613 (µS/cm)
0.05M KBr 7323 (µS/cm)
Tap Water 796 (µS/cm)
0.05M CH3COOH 446 (µS/cm)
Distilled Water 67 (µS/cm)
0.05M CH3OH 54 (µS/cm)
0.05M C2H6O2 38 (µS/cm)
0.05M H3BO3 38 (µS/cm)

Experiment B:

AlCl3
Number of Conductivit
Drops y
0 20.18679171
73
1 307.1444428
25
2 472.7150541
4
3 737.0995500
25
4 970.1643051
33
5 1301.028996
37
6 1596.753716
84
7 1889.446833
88
8 2079.905270
6

2
CaCl2
Number of Conductivit
Drops y
0 13.33495830
33
1 220.4876976
61
2 374.0752819
29
3 576.1992466
88
4 804.1942595
84
5 1009.667326
77
6 1145.567143
77
7 1249.051336
32
8 1417.356535
85

3
NaCl

Number of Conductivit
Drops y
0 8.664650326
13
1 121.6123616
7
2 234.4781377
85
3 318.2569080
78
4 406.5421158
93
5 517.5028979
65

4
 Number of Conductivit
Drops y
6 596.9288592
88
7 681.2299666
57
8 764.6912379
43

CH3OH
Number of Conductivit
Drops y
0 9.453276892
46
1 8.019410408
23
2 7.947717084
02
3 7.845298049
43
4 7.957958987
47
5 7.957958987
47
6 7.927233277
1
7 8.029652311
69

5
 Number of Conductivit
Drops y
8 8.009168504
77

Combined Data
Number of Drops Conductivit
y
AlCl3 CaCl2 CH3OH NaCl
0 20.18679171 13.33495830 9.453276892 8.664650326
73 33 46 13
1 307.1444428 220.4876976 8.019410408 121.6123616
25 61 23 7
2 472.7150541 374.0752819 7.947717084 234.4781377
4 29 02 85
3 737.0995500 576.1992466 7.845298049 318.2569080
25 88 43 78
4 970.1643051 804.1942595 7.957958987 406.5421158
33 84 47 93
5 1301.028996 1009.667326 7.957958987 517.5028979
37 77 47 65
6 1596.753716 1145.567143 7.927233277 596.9288592
84 77 1 88
7 1889.446833 1249.051336 8.029652311 681.2299666
88 32 69 57
8 2079.905270 1417.356535 8.009168504 764.6912379
6 85 77 43

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Data Analysis (in decreasing order of conductivity):
AlCl3 > CaCl2 > NaCl > CH3OH

Conclusions and Discussion:

In the first experiment, the electrical conductivity of identical concentrations of several solutions -
both ionic and molecular were determined. In addition, the conductivity of tap water and distilled
water were measured as comparison controls. The data show that based upon each
compound’s conductivity KBr and HCl can be considered strong electrolyte compounds; tap
water and CH3COOH can be considered weak electrolyte compounds; finally, distilled water,
CH3OH, C2H6O2, and H3BO3 can be considered non-electrolyte compounds.

Interestingly, there is a marked difference in conductivity between tap water and distilled water.
This difference likely arises from the various metallic elements, as well as fluoride, that are
found in very low concentrations in tap water. These elements form weak ionic bonds with the
very small concentration of dissociated hydrogen.

The measured conductivity of H3BO3 (38 µS/cm) is interesting as this compound is an acid
(boric acid), albeit a weak one, and acids are usually considered electrolyte compounds.
However, boric acid’s electrical conductivity classifies it as a non-electrolyte compound. Boric
acid’s weak conductivity is due in part to it’s poor solubility in aqueous solutions.

7
In the second experiment, the effect of varying the concentration of four different solutions
(CH3OH, AlCl3, CaCl2, and NaCl) was determined. The concentration of each solution was
gradually increased and nine conductivity readings were obtained for each. As expected, the
three electrolyte compounds exhibited greater conductivity than the molecular compound -
CH3OH. In addition, the conductivity of each electrolyte compound showed a near linear
relationship to its concentration, increasing in a step-wise fashion as the concentration was
increased. In contrast, the conductivity of CH3OH remained essentially the same regardless of
concentration, as was expected given it’s poor solubility in water and that it is an electrically
neutral compound. Of the three electrolyte compounds, AlCl3 exhibited the greatest conductivity
while NaCl exhibited the least. This can be explained by the number of ions generated by each
compound when dissociated in an aqueous solution. As the ionic “concentration” of any given
solution increases, its electrical conductivity likewise increases. AlCl3 dissociates into 4
separate ions - one Al3+ cation and three Cl- anions. Whereas, the two other compounds - CaCl2
and NaCl - dissociate into three ions and two ions, respectively. Therefore, it would be expected
that AlCl3 would be a better conductor than CaCl2 and that CaCl2 would be a better conductor
than NaCl. Of course, this only holds true if each compound has the same molar concentration
as the others.

In conclusion, chemical compounds can be classified as either ionic or molecular. The type of
bond between its constituent elements determines the classification. Ionic compounds have an
electrostatic bond, while molecular compounds have a covalent bond. Ionic compounds can
further be classified into weak compounds and strong compounds based upon their degree of
electrical conductivity. In the first experiment, the electrical conductivity of several compounds
of identical molar concentration dissolved in an aqueous solution was determined, and each
compound was classified according to its conductivity. As expected, the ionic compounds
exhibited greater conductivity than the molecular compounds. Then, in the second experiment,
the effect of varying the concentration of several solutions was determined. The conductivity of
equal molar concentrations of each compound were compared as the concentration of each
solution was gradually increased. As expected, the ionic compounds exhibited greater
conductivity for any given concentration compared to the molecular compound. Further, the
degree of conductivity was strongly affected by the number of ions that each compound
dissociates into when in solution. The greater the molar concentration of ions, the greater the
conductivity.