Question

a solution of 0.10 hydrochloric acid, HCL is a better conductor of electricity than 0.10 M acetic acid, CH3COOH. sketch the ions and molecules in both solutions to explain this observation

Answer 1

HCl is a strong acid which means that 100% of it dissociates in water (is a strong electrolyte). acetic acid on the other hand is a weak base and only a small portion of it actually dissociates in water (is a weak electrolyte). to sketch hte ions and molecules in both solutions, show the HCl solution with only H⁺ cations and Cl⁻ anions in the water and the CH₃COOH solution with H⁺ cations, CH₃COO⁻ anions, and CH₃COOH molecules in water. The more cations and anions a solution has, the more conductive it is. That means that the acetic acid is less conductive since not 100% of the acid dissociates into cations and anions meaning less cations and anions are being produced.

I hope this helps. Let me know in the comments if anything is unclear.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

Generally, strong acids are better conductors of electricity than weak acids. This is because a strong acid dissociates completely in water while the hydrogen atom(s) of a weak acid ionizes partially in water - knowing fully well that the rate of conduction of a liquid depends on the number of ions in that liquid, strong acids having more ions are better conductors of electricity.

Hydrochloric acid, HCl, is a strong acid which dissociates as shown in the equation below

HCl ⇒ H⁺ + Cl⁻

Acetic acid, CH₃COOH, is a weak acid and dissociates as shown in the equation below

CH₃COOH ⇒ CH₃COO⁻ + H⁺