What happens to the electrical conductivity of pure water when an acid is dissolved in it?

• A. The conductivity increases because more ions are present.
• B. The conductivity remains unchanged because acids do not affect water.
• C. The conductivity decreases because acids neutralize water.
• D. The conductivity drops to zero because acids remove all charge carriers.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that pure water has very low electrical conductivity because it contains very few ions (H\_3O\^+ and OH\^- from autoionization).
2. Recognize that acids dissociate in water to produce additional H\^+ (or H\_3O\^+) ions, increasing the total number of charge carriers in the solution.
3. Recall that electrical conductivity depends on the concentration and mobility of ions present in the solution.
4. Conclude that adding an acid increases the ion concentration, which in turn increases the electrical conductivity of the solution.
5. Therefore, the correct reasoning is that the conductivity increases because more ions are present when an acid is dissolved in pure water.