{"id":2730,"date":"2016-08-24T17:28:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T17:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=2730"},"modified":"2016-08-26T18:45:36","modified_gmt":"2016-08-26T18:45:36","slug":"strong-and-weak-electrolytes","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/chapter\/strong-and-weak-electrolytes\/","title":{"raw":"Strong and Weak Electrolytes","rendered":"Strong and Weak Electrolytes"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"x-ck12-data-objectives\">\r\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-NGJlNjg1ODIxZjlmMWNjNTk3ZTU2MTU3MDZlODA0ZWM.-qkg\">\r\n \t<li>Define strong electrolyte.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Define weak electrolyte.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Explain how to write equations for a weak electrolyte in solution.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Can car batteries be hazardous?<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"250\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2014\/08\/19212346\/20140811155540966017.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of a car battery. A car battery contains the strong electrolyte sulfuric acid.\" width=\"250\" height=\"431\" \/> Car battery by <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Photo-CarBattery-top.jpg\">Shaddack<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-ZjAwZDhlMDg1MmZlYWU1YWNjNGY3YzNiNmIyMWIxYWY.-cix\">Car batteries, like the one shown above, are used around the world to provide the power to start car engines.\u00a0 One essential component of car batteries is the strong electrolyte sulfuric acid.\u00a0 In the battery, this material ionizes into hydrogen ions and sulfate ions.\u00a0 As the battery is used, the concentrations of these ions decrease.\u00a0 Older batteries had openings in the top where new sulfuric acid could be added to replenish the supply.\u00a0 Today, batteries are sealed to prevent leakage of the hazardous sulfuric acid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Strong and Weak Electrolytes<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-ZWFkM2E1NWQyNTIwODUyZTczNjYzNTFlNjEzMjNkODQ.-ciy\">Some polar molecular compounds are nonelectrolytes when they are in their pure state, but become electrolytes when they are dissolved in water.\u00a0 Hydrogen chloride (HCl)\u00a0is a gas in its pure molecular state and is a nonelectrolyte.\u00a0 However, when HCl\u00a0is dissolved in water, it conducts a current well because the HCl\u00a0molecule ionizes into hydrogen and chloride ions.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-MDViMTMwNGY0ZDBjZjE2MTAwZDEyZjE5MGQ2YmJmNGY.-41l\" class=\"x-ck12-indent\" style=\"text-align: center;\">HCl(<em>g<\/em>) \u2192\u00a0H<sup>+ <\/sup> (<em>aq<\/em>) + Cl <sup> - <\/sup> (<em>aq<\/em>)<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-YzRmZGVjMGVlMWI1YjIwYjIyNzhmNWNhZjZhZjJhOTU.-qme\">When HCl\u00a0is dissolved into water, it is called hydrochloric acid.\u00a0 Ionic compounds and some polar compounds are completely broken apart into ions and thus conduct a current very well.\u00a0 A <strong> strong <\/strong> <strong> electrolyte <\/strong> is a solution in which a large fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-M2Y2NWM1ZDU2NzVhZTVkNjcwNGUwZmZhMDIzMTA1MTg.-h1a\">Some other polar molecular compounds become electrolytes upon being dissolved into water, but do not ionize to very great extent.\u00a0 Gaseous nitrous acid ionizes in solution into hydrogen ions and nitrite ions, but does so very weakly.\u00a0 Aqueous nitrous acid is composed of only about 5% ions and 95% intact nitrous acid molecules.\u00a0 A <strong> weak <\/strong> <strong> electrolyte <\/strong> is a solution in which only a small fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.\u00a0 The equation showing the ionization of a weak electrolyte utilizes a double arrow indicating an equilibrium between the reactants and products.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-x4l\" class=\"x-ck12-indent\"><img class=\"x-ck12-math aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2014\/08\/19212348\/7a22a8db24d0161b10be4a0893df64f5.png\" alt=\"text{HNO}_2(g) rightleftarrows text{H}^+ (aq)+text{NO}^-_2(aq)\" width=\"247\" height=\"21\" \/><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\r\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-MDMwNWQ2ZjdkMzdkZjMxYTcxYjk2NTNiYjhkODVjOWY.-muf\">\r\n \t<li>A strong electrolyte exists mainly as ions in solution.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A weak electrolyte has only a small amount of ionization in solution.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\nUse the link below to answer the following questions:\r\n<p id=\"x-ck12-NDBiMmI3MjZmNmY5MDU5ZTcxZGU0ZWQ2Yzc0YjRjNzc.-oxd\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/depts\/chemistry\/courses\/toolkits\/121\/js\/naming\/elec.htm\"> http:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/depts\/chemistry\/courses\/toolkits\/121\/js\/naming\/elec.htm <\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<ol id=\"x-ck12-MDE2YjBhYjdiOWEyMzYzZTA4NDc3ZTE4NTFkN2ZiMjY.-ykq\">\r\n \t<li>What is the principal species for a strong electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What is the principle species for a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Is KOH\u00a0a strong electrolyte or a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How would you classify CaCl<sub>2<\/sub>?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Review<\/h3>\r\n<ol id=\"x-ck12-MmI2Nzg2ZGQ1ZGVjNDJjMmI5ZTlmNzVlNzc2NmU3MjA.-oph\">\r\n \t<li>Is gaseous HCl\u00a0an electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What happens to gaseous HCl\u00a0when it dissolves in water?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What is a strong electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What is a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Is HNO<sub>3 <\/sub> \u00a0a strong electrolyte or a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2 class=\"x-ck12-data-problem-set\">\u00a0Glossary<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"x-ck12-data-vocabulary\">\r\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-NmMwOTAwNGQwMDI0MTEwZGEzYWI2ODJiNmY3NDRmMDc.-ojn\">\r\n \t<li><strong> strong electrolyte: <\/strong> A\u00a0solution in which a large fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong> weak electrolyte: <\/strong> A\u00a0solution in which only a small fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<div class=\"x-ck12-data-objectives\">\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-NGJlNjg1ODIxZjlmMWNjNTk3ZTU2MTU3MDZlODA0ZWM.-qkg\">\n<li>Define strong electrolyte.<\/li>\n<li>Define weak electrolyte.<\/li>\n<li>Explain how to write equations for a weak electrolyte in solution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Can car batteries be hazardous?<\/h3>\n<div style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2014\/08\/19212346\/20140811155540966017.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of a car battery. A car battery contains the strong electrolyte sulfuric acid.\" width=\"250\" height=\"431\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Car battery by <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Photo-CarBattery-top.jpg\">Shaddack<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-ZjAwZDhlMDg1MmZlYWU1YWNjNGY3YzNiNmIyMWIxYWY.-cix\">Car batteries, like the one shown above, are used around the world to provide the power to start car engines.\u00a0 One essential component of car batteries is the strong electrolyte sulfuric acid.\u00a0 In the battery, this material ionizes into hydrogen ions and sulfate ions.\u00a0 As the battery is used, the concentrations of these ions decrease.\u00a0 Older batteries had openings in the top where new sulfuric acid could be added to replenish the supply.\u00a0 Today, batteries are sealed to prevent leakage of the hazardous sulfuric acid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Strong and Weak Electrolytes<\/h2>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-ZWFkM2E1NWQyNTIwODUyZTczNjYzNTFlNjEzMjNkODQ.-ciy\">Some polar molecular compounds are nonelectrolytes when they are in their pure state, but become electrolytes when they are dissolved in water.\u00a0 Hydrogen chloride (HCl)\u00a0is a gas in its pure molecular state and is a nonelectrolyte.\u00a0 However, when HCl\u00a0is dissolved in water, it conducts a current well because the HCl\u00a0molecule ionizes into hydrogen and chloride ions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-MDViMTMwNGY0ZDBjZjE2MTAwZDEyZjE5MGQ2YmJmNGY.-41l\" class=\"x-ck12-indent\" style=\"text-align: center;\">HCl(<em>g<\/em>) \u2192\u00a0H<sup>+ <\/sup> (<em>aq<\/em>) + Cl <sup> &#8211; <\/sup> (<em>aq<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-YzRmZGVjMGVlMWI1YjIwYjIyNzhmNWNhZjZhZjJhOTU.-qme\">When HCl\u00a0is dissolved into water, it is called hydrochloric acid.\u00a0 Ionic compounds and some polar compounds are completely broken apart into ions and thus conduct a current very well.\u00a0 A <strong> strong <\/strong> <strong> electrolyte <\/strong> is a solution in which a large fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-M2Y2NWM1ZDU2NzVhZTVkNjcwNGUwZmZhMDIzMTA1MTg.-h1a\">Some other polar molecular compounds become electrolytes upon being dissolved into water, but do not ionize to very great extent.\u00a0 Gaseous nitrous acid ionizes in solution into hydrogen ions and nitrite ions, but does so very weakly.\u00a0 Aqueous nitrous acid is composed of only about 5% ions and 95% intact nitrous acid molecules.\u00a0 A <strong> weak <\/strong> <strong> electrolyte <\/strong> is a solution in which only a small fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.\u00a0 The equation showing the ionization of a weak electrolyte utilizes a double arrow indicating an equilibrium between the reactants and products.<\/p>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-x4l\" class=\"x-ck12-indent\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"x-ck12-math aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2014\/08\/19212348\/7a22a8db24d0161b10be4a0893df64f5.png\" alt=\"text{HNO}_2(g) rightleftarrows text{H}^+ (aq)+text{NO}^-_2(aq)\" width=\"247\" height=\"21\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-MDMwNWQ2ZjdkMzdkZjMxYTcxYjk2NTNiYjhkODVjOWY.-muf\">\n<li>A strong electrolyte exists mainly as ions in solution.<\/li>\n<li>A weak electrolyte has only a small amount of ionization in solution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Use the link below to answer the following questions:<\/p>\n<p id=\"x-ck12-NDBiMmI3MjZmNmY5MDU5ZTcxZGU0ZWQ2Yzc0YjRjNzc.-oxd\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/depts\/chemistry\/courses\/toolkits\/121\/js\/naming\/elec.htm\"> http:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/depts\/chemistry\/courses\/toolkits\/121\/js\/naming\/elec.htm <\/a><\/p>\n<ol id=\"x-ck12-MDE2YjBhYjdiOWEyMzYzZTA4NDc3ZTE4NTFkN2ZiMjY.-ykq\">\n<li>What is the principal species for a strong electrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>What is the principle species for a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>Is KOH\u00a0a strong electrolyte or a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>How would you classify CaCl<sub>2<\/sub>?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Review<\/h3>\n<ol id=\"x-ck12-MmI2Nzg2ZGQ1ZGVjNDJjMmI5ZTlmNzVlNzc2NmU3MjA.-oph\">\n<li>Is gaseous HCl\u00a0an electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>What happens to gaseous HCl\u00a0when it dissolves in water?<\/li>\n<li>What is a strong electrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>What is a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\n<li>Is HNO<sub>3 <\/sub> \u00a0a strong electrolyte or a weak electrolyte?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"x-ck12-data-problem-set\">\u00a0Glossary<\/h2>\n<div class=\"x-ck12-data-vocabulary\">\n<ul id=\"x-ck12-NmMwOTAwNGQwMDI0MTEwZGEzYWI2ODJiNmY3NDRmMDc.-ojn\">\n<li><strong> strong electrolyte: <\/strong> A\u00a0solution in which a large fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/li>\n<li><strong> weak electrolyte: <\/strong> A\u00a0solution in which only a small fraction of the dissolved solute exists as ions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-2730\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Chemistry Concepts Intermediate. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Calbreath, Baxter, et al.. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: CK12.org. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ck12.org\/book\/CK-12-Chemistry-Concepts-Intermediate\/\">http:\/\/www.ck12.org\/book\/CK-12-Chemistry-Concepts-Intermediate\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":9,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Chemistry Concepts Intermediate\",\"author\":\"Calbreath, Baxter, et al.\",\"organization\":\"CK12.org\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ck12.org\/book\/CK-12-Chemistry-Concepts-Intermediate\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-2730","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":2336,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3406,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2730\/revisions\/3406"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2336"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2730\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2730"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2730"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-cheminter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}