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Would you expect solutions of equal molarity of sodium carbonate and sodium nitrate to have equal conductivity? Explain.

User Willll
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Final answer:

No, solutions of equal molarity of sodium carbonate and sodium nitrate would not have equal conductivity because sodium carbonate dissociates into three ions, including a doubly charged ion, which contributes to higher conductivity compared to the two singly charged ions that result from the dissociation of sodium nitrate.

Step-by-step explanation:

Would you expect solutions of equal molarity of sodium carbonate and sodium nitrate to have equal conductivity? The answer is no, they would not have equal conductivity. Conductivity of a solution depends on the number of ions present and their charges. Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) dissociates into three ions (2 Na+ and 1 CO32-), whereas sodium nitrate (NaNO3) dissociates only into two ions (Na+ and NO3-). More ions generally mean higher conductivity, and since CO32- is doubly charged, it can also affect the conductivity.

Additionally, based on the principles of ionic conductivity, a doubly charged ion such as CO32- carries twice as much current through the solution compared to a singly charged ion like NO3- at the same concentration when subjected to an electric field. Therefore, a solution of sodium carbonate should in theory have higher conductivity than an equally molar solution of sodium nitrate.

User SuVeRa
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