Ch 4

Question 1

Svante Arrchenius

Answer 1

1859-1927
- First correctly identified the basis for the conductivity properties of solutions, then a Swedish graduate student in physics, who carried out research on the nature of solutions at the University of Uppsala in the early 1880s
- Arrchenius came to believe that the conductivity of solutions arose from the presence of ions, an idea that was at first scorned by the majority of the scientific establishment. However, in the late 1890s when atoms were found to contain charged particles,
the ionic theory suddenly made sense and became widely accepted.
- As Arrhenius postulated, the extent to which a solution can conduct an electric current depends directly on the number of ions present. Some materials, such as sodium chloride, readily produce ions in aqueous solution and thus are strong electrolytes. Other substances, such as acetic acid, produce relatively few ions when dissolved in water and are weak electrolytes. A third class of materials, such as sugar, form virtually no ions when dissolved in water and are nonelectrolytes.

Question 2

Arrhenius proposed what about acids?

Answer 2

That an acid is a substance that produces H+ ions (protons) when it is dissolved in water