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GOB Chemistry

Learn the toughest concepts covered in your GOB - General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry class with step-by-step video tutorials and practice problems.

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Electrolytes (Simplified)

Electrolytes are compounds that can conduct electricity once they are dissolved in a solvent.

Understanding Electrolytes

Whenever you add a solute to a solvent there are three possible outcomes:the solute dissolves completely, dissolves partially or doesn't dissolve at all into ions.

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Electrolytes (Simplified) Concept 1

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electrolytes represent compounds that conduct electricity when entering their ionic forms when dissolved or melted. Now recall that conductivity is a physical property that deals with the ability of electrical current to flow through a map through a material. Now we're gonna talk about different types of electrolytes. Let's start out with the strong ones. Now they represent salutes that completely dissociate into ions when placed in a solvent typically water. A great example of a strong electrolyte is sodium chloride, solid. When I put it into water, place it in water, it breaks up completely into its two ions, which are sodium ion acquis plus, quiet eye on a quiz. Remember the acquis just means that waters surrounding that particular ion. And just remember also that we're gonna make 100% of both of these ions. Now, strong electrolytes can represent acquis soluble ionic compounds which we learn through the suitability rolls, strong acids as well as strong basis. Now, let's look at classifications of this type of electrolyte. Now, the type of electrolyte of course is strong, its degree of dissociation. We're gonna say that it completely dissociates. So it breaks up 100 because of this, one of the species in solution. While the solid form no longer exists, it's been entirely converted into ions and then conductivity. Yes, because it breaks up into ions. Those ions can conduct electricity. Now great examples of soluble ionic compounds would be sodium chloride, sodium nitrate, potassium bromide, magnesium chloride. These are based on our understanding of the saw liability rules. So if you have been watching my videos in terms of them, I highly suggest you go back and take a look. Next are strong acids and there are a lot of different strong acids. These are the most important one that you keep in mind. We have hydro hydrochloric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydro i OTIK acid, nitric acid per caloric acid and sulfuric acid, strong bases, strong bases. We have sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide looking hydroxide. These are some basic examples of strong bases will go into greater detail in terms of other strong basis for now. But here these are three great examples. So just remember strong electro electrolytes break up completely into ions and therefore those ions are good conductors of electricity.

Strong Electrolytes break up into ions completely and are grouped into 3 categories:Soluble Ionic Compounds, Strong Acids and Strong Bases.

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Electrolytes (Simplified) Example 1

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Write a balanced equation for the association of the following strong electrolyte and water. So here we have iron three nitrate. So here we're gonna have iron three nitrate as a solid. It's going to break up into water since it's a strong air electrolyte, we have a solidary going forward. It breaks up into our Iron three Ion acquis, plus three nitrate ions Acquis. This year would represent the balanced equation for this particular strong electrolyte.
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Electrolytes (Simplified) Concept 2

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now we got electrolytes represents salutes that partially dissolve so partially dissolved into ions when placed in a solvent. Here we have HF HF is Hydrofluoric acid, which is a weak acid acids are typically found in their request form and solution here is going to break up into the H plus ions. Acquis plus f minus ion acquis realize here that we see double arrow here. This reversible error. This indicates that we have a weak electrolyte. So if you're ever looking at a balanced equation and you see a double arrow or reversible error like this, that means that this is a weak electrolyte. Now, weak electrolytes can be either in soluble ionic compounds. Yes, even inside the ionic compounds break up a little bit weak acids or weak bases. So here, let's take a look at the classification of electrolytes. We already went over the strong electrolytes earlier. If you haven't looked at that video and make sure you go back and take a look now, let's look at your weak electrolyte. So you're weak electrolytes. They don't dissociate completely. They disassociate partially because the only partially associate it's mostly molecules and only some ions. So if we looked up above, we would say that for this weak electrolyte of Hydrofluoric acid, a vast majority of it would stay in this form of HF a quiz. And very little bit of these ions would actually be formed. So the vast majority of it is still in the reactant side of the equation. Now conductivity we're gonna say weekly, weekly because we don't make very many of those ions on the product side. So here we have in green are insoluble ionic compounds and calcium sulfate, barium sulfate and calcium sulfide. These are just some examples of insoluble ionic compounds based on our understanding of the sea liability rules. Great examples of weak acids are Hydrofluoric acid, which we saw up above and acetic acid, and then some great examples of weak bases are magnesium, hydroxide and ammonia. Now these are not the only weak acids of weak bases. These are just some great examples of weak acids and weak bases, which we can classify as weak electrolytes. So just keep in mind the differences between strong electrolytes and weak electrolytes.

Weak Electrolytes partially break up into ions and are grouped into 3 categories:Insoluble Ionic Compounds, Weak Acids and Weak Bases.

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Electrolytes (Simplified) Example 2

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Ben's OIC acid, which is C six H five C O H is a weak acid would you expect because of an acid solution contain? All right, so it's a weak acid. So C six H five C o h. It is an asset to its acquis. It is a weak acid. So it's a weak electrolyte, which means I have reversible arrows. It would produce these two particular ions, Equus plus H plus Equus now remember because it's a weak electrolyte, it is mostly in its molecular form, its molecule for and very few ions. So not many of these products would be formed. So, we'd say here that it's mostly this compound here, very little of the ion. So out of the choices options see is the best one or mostly molecules for weak electrolytes with some ions formed.
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Electrolytes (Simplified) Concept 3

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So non electrolytes consists of molecular or covalin compounds that don't dissociate into ions. Here we have a good example of glucose solid. Even after placing it in water, it doesn't break up. It's still all together as glucose, but it's still being surrounded by water. So you can still say it's Equus. Now, examples of other non electrolytes includes water, sugars like glucose and alcohols and other non ionic compounds. Now when I say sugars, sugars are just compounds with the molecular formula of C N H 20 N. Okay, so here glucose we saw C6h sucrose tv. It's a little bit from this. Sucrose is C 12 H 22 0 glucose and sucrose are the most famous of the sugars that you'll most likely see when dealing with non electrolytes alcohol alcohol are just Covalin compounds with carbon and hydrogen connected to. Ohh, methanol is ch three oh H, Fennel is C 6 H50 H. A key thing to recognize an alcohol is that they end with the word all methanol, ethanol. Now we've talked about strong electrolytes, we talked about weak electrolytes, but what about non electrolytes? Now, the degree of association is they don't disassociate. So we're going to say no dissociation. They don't break up into ions at all, so it's only molecules and because they don't break up into ions at all, they don't conduct electricity. Sucrose is a great example besides glucose as Vietnam electrolyte here we have an alcohol in the form of methanol. We also have these other structures here. We have water, hydrogen peroxide. We also have CH four N 20 which is just an example of a molecular or Covalin compound. So just remember non electrolytes don't break up into ions whatsoever and therefore they cannot conduct electricity. Like strong and weak electrolytes can

Non-Electrolytes do NOT break up into ions at all and are commonly referred to as molecular compounds.

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Electrolytes (Simplified) Example 3

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the dissolution of a compound is given by the reaction. Below. Here we have a white sphere and a black sphere and they break up into separate spheres which represent their ions. Now identify each of the following solutions as either electrolytic, weekly electrolytic or non electrolytic. So if we take a look Something that's electrolytic is strong, that means it would break up 100% into these ions. If we take a look here, the only one that shows us separate white spheres and black spheres where everything is completely broken apart is the last one. So this would be electrolytic for the next one. We have weekly electrolytic and non electrolytic, weekly electrolytic would have more of these intact, but also have some of these floating around as well. If we take a look, that would be the Middle one. So this one is weekly electrolytic and non electrolytic. None of these ions would form and they would all exist as this molecular form here. And that would be the first one. So the first one to be non electrolytic
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Problem

Each of the following reactions depicts a solute dissolving in water. Classify each solute as a strong electrolyte, a weak electrolyte or a non-electrolyte.


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Problem

Which of the following represents a non-electrolyte? 

a) (CH3)2NH2                             b) NaOH                       c) HIO3                         d) C2H5OH                    e) CsNH2

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