answersLogoWhite

0

Ionic compounds are unable to conduct electricity in crystalline (or solid) form because the ions are unable to carry the electric current since they cannot move from their fixed positions. When in a dissolved state, the ions separate and can thus carry the current.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Earth Science

What 2 properties of sucrose distinguish it from sodium chloride?

physical or chemical? physical property: sucrose is sweet while sodium chloride is salty, sucrose is often prepared as fine, crystalline powder while sodium chloride is often prepared with larger crystals. chemical property: sucrose is made up of molecules while sodium chloride is made up of ions. sucrose when dissolved in water cannot conduct electricity because it has covalent bonds. thus there are no mobile ions or electrons to conduct electricity. sodium chloride on the other hand has mobile ions when dissolved in water. thus it can conduct electricity.


Why dont sodium chloride crystal conduct electricity?

Sodium Chloride does not conduct electicity because it is not a metal.Chemical Law: The electrons are unable to move through the latice as they could in a metal and therefore cannot carry electrical charge. Dissolving Sodium Chloride in water will enable it to conduct electricity as the electrons become free to move.


Soild sodium chloride is called an ionic solid. Its predicted properties are what?

Ionic solids like sodium chloride have high melting and boiling points due to the strong electrostatic forces between the ions. They are usually hard and brittle, do not conduct electricity as solids but do when molten or dissolved in water, and tend to form regular crystalline structures.


Would a light bulb light up when placed in an aqueous solution of sodium chloride but not solid sodium chloride?

The light bulb would not light up when placed in a solid sodium chloride because the solid does not conduct electricity. However, in an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, the solution is able to conduct electricity due to the presence of free ions, allowing the light bulb to light up.


Is sodium chloride different from a metal as an electrical conductor?

Sodium chloride is different from a metal as an electrical conductor. This is because sodium chloride is an ionic compound and therefore can only conduct electricity when molten or dissolved, as the ions are free to move in this state. However, metals can conduct electricity when solid or molten because the atoms are free to move in both states, therefore they can carry an electrical charge. This is therefore the difference between sodium chloride and metals as an electrical conductor.

Related Questions

Why does sodium chloride conduct electricity in crystalline form?

When it is a solid sodium chloride is not an electrical conductor.


Why does molten sodium chloride conduct electricity but crystalline magnesium chloride does not?

In the molten state the ions of sodium chloride are free to move. Magnesium chloride would also conduct if it were molten. Since the ions of the magnesium chloride are bound together in the crystal lattice they cannot carry a current.


Can solid sodium chloride conduct elcetricity?

Solid sodium chloride doesn't conduct electricity.


Is Sodium chloride do they conduct electric city?

Sodium Chloride solution (dissolved in water) conducts electricity, and molten Sodium Chloride conducts electricty, but dry crystal Sodium Chloride does not conduct electricity.


What does sodium chloride conduct?

Sodium chloride conduct electricity only when is as an electrolyte: in water solution or melted.


Does Sodium chloride solid conduct electricity?

Sodium chloride is not electrically conductive.


Why does a sodium chloride crystal not conduct electricity?

Solid sodium chloride is not an electrolyte.


Does sodium chloride conduct electricity in trichloromethane?

No


Why does sodium chloride not conduct electricity?

The solid sodium chloride hasn't moving electrons.


Does sodium chloride conduct electricity in ethanol?

No, sodium chloride does not conduct electricity in ethanol because ethanol is a nonpolar solvent that does not dissociate ionic compounds like sodium chloride. Sodium chloride only dissolves in ethanol, it does not ionize to form free ions that can conduct electricity.


How could you make sodium chloride conduct electricity?

Sodium chloride conducts electricity, but only if dissolved in water. When dissolved in water the ions in this ionic compound break down into both positively and negatively charged ions . It is then that sodium chloride can conduct electricity through these ions.


Do sodium chloride crystals conduct electricity?

Solid sodium chloride is not an electrical conductor.