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Electrolite diffrance? Chemistry?

What is the difference between a strong electrolyte adn a weak electrolyte? How can collegiate properties be used to distinguish them??

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    The difference lies in how well they conduct electric current when dissolved in water. A strong electrolyte conducts current efficiently when dissolved in water. These are generally ionic compounds that completely dissociate (break apart into their component ions) in water. Weak electrolytes, on the other hand, conduct current poorly, because they do not completely dissociate.

    The colligative properties of a solution are those properties (vapor pressure, freezing/boiling point, osmotic pressure) that are dependent solely on the relative amounts of solute and solvent particles. Since electrical conductivity is dependent on the number of ions in solution, you can predict relative electrolyte difference using the colligative properties of a solution.

    Take boiling point elevation for instance. A solution's boiling point is higher than that of a pure solvent; the amount of the increase depends on the number of dissolved particles. Therefore, the higher the solution's boiling point, the stronger an electrolyte it is.

    Note that this is not true for non-ionic solutes (e.g. sugars, alcohols)

    Source(s): I have a BS in Chemistry. For more on electrolytes: http://www.kentchemistry.com/aplinks/chapters/4che... For more on colligative properties: http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/...
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