Question
Question: Assertion : An aqueous solution of sodium chloride conducts electricity. Reason : An aqueous solut...
Assertion : An aqueous solution of sodium chloride conducts electricity.
Reason : An aqueous solution of sodium chloride conducts electricity because it is a soluble ionic compound when dissolved in water.
(A) Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for assertion.
(B) Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is not the correct explanation for Assertion
(C) Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect
(D) Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect
Solution
Hint : Sodium chloride is the product formed from the reaction between an acid known as hydrochloric acid and a base called sodium hydroxide. This reaction is known as a neutralization reaction. These salts when dissolved in a particular solvent will undergo hydrolysis to produce acids and bases which exist in the ionic form.
Complete Step By Step Answer:
An aqueous solution of sodium chloride is a good conductor of electricity because it is a soluble ionic compound in water, which when dissolved in water, it gets dissociates into Na+ and Cl− and these ions will conduct electricity.
The ions that are produced in the solution will respond to an applied electric field according to their charge. The positively charged Na+ ions are attracted to the cathode which is negatively charged and the negatively charged Cl− ions are attracted to the anode which is positively charged. This movement of charged particles will constitute an electric current in the presence of an applied field. This is because we know that current is the movement of charged particles.
Hence we can say that the correct answer for this question will be option (A).
Note :
Any ionic compound will undergo the same type of ionic dissociation when taken in aqueous form. Since the salt taken here is a product of a strong acid and a strong base reacting we get a neutral solution. If either the acid or base is weak then the solution produced by the salt will have the character of the strong component.