Question

Fill in the blanks
(a) Most liquids that conduct electricity are solutions of _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ __ _, and _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
(b) The passage of an electric current through a solution causes _ _ _ _ _ effects.
(c) If you pass current through copper sulfate solution, copper gets deposited on the plate connected to the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ terminal of the battery.
(d) The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another material by means of electricity is called _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Answer 1

All the given statements involve the concept of conduction of electricity by ionic solutions. Solutions of acids, bases, and salts produce ions when mixed with water. Due to these ions, there is the conduction of electricity.

Complete step-by-step solution:
We will answer and understand each of the statements one by one.
(a) We know that a conductor like a metal conducts electricity. Meaning there is a flow of charges in the conductor when a potential difference is created across the conductor. Other than metals, some liquids also conduct electricity.
Most liquids that conduct electricity are solutions of acids, bases, and salts.
When acids, bases, and salts are mixed with water, they dissociate into their constituent ions. Ions are charged particles (molecules). Due to the presence of these free ions the solutions conduct electricity.
(b) The passage of an electric current through a solution causes chemical effects.
When current passes through a solution, there is a deposition of ions on the respective plates. The positive ions are deposited on the negative plate and the negative ions are deposited on the positive plate. An example of this statement is given in the next statement.
(c) A copper sulfate solution contains ions of copper and sulfate. The ions of copper are positively charged and the ions of sulfate are negatively charged.
Hence, if you pass current through a copper sulfate solution, copper gets deposited on the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery.
(d) As you understood in the above example that a metal can be deposited on a plate connected to the negative terminal. This can be helpful in coating a plate with a protective layer of the desired metal.
The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another material by means of electricity is called electroplating.

Note: Let us understand how acids, bases, and salts dissociate into ions. Acids, bases, and salts are ionic compounds. Meaning they are found when two or more ions of some atoms combine to form a molecule. When these ionic compounds are mixed in water, the ionic bonds between the ions break, and the molecules dissociate into their respective ions.