Chemical Effects of Electric Current

Conductors and insulators

Figure 1 Conductors and Insulators of Electricity

 A conductor is any material or substance that allows electricity to flow through it. Ex- metals,
some liquids and graphite etc
 An insulator OR poor conductor is any substance or material that prevents the flow of electricity
through it. Ex- rubber, plastic and wood etc
 Any substance can be called as a conductor of electricity if it allows movement of charges
through it.
 The electrons of the conductors can flow freely (they are delocalized) and hence can take electric
current through them.
 Insulators do not allow the flow of charges through them because their electrons are tightly packed
with their particles.

Figure 2 Delocalized Electrons in a Conductor

 Some materials can allow a little flow of electricity through them and are called poor conductors of
electricity.
 Some materials can allow the complete flow of electricity through them and are called good
conductors of electricity.
 Every material may conduct electricity in certain situations. For example, air is a bad conductor of
electricity but in case of thunderstorms and lightning it carries electric charges through it. Hence, materials
are always classifies as good and poor conductors of electricity rather than conductors and insulators.
Can liquids conduct electricity?
 Not all liquids can conduct electricity. However, some of them can be regarded as good conductors
of electricity while others as poor conductors of electricity.
 Water containing salts and minerals dissolved in it always conduct electricity.
 Distilled water which does not contain any salts cannot conduct electricity.
 Any solution of acids or bases can also conduct electricity.

Figure 3 Liquids that are Poor and Good Conductors of Electricity

How do liquids conduct electricity?

 Different substances when mixed in water and electricity is passed through them can break apart and
form positive and negative particles or ions in the water.
 These ions can pass the electric current through them.
 The more is the number of ions in a liquid the better conductor it is of electricity.
 That is why distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity but salt water is a good conductor of
electricity.
 However, many compounds do not form any ions on mixing them with water and therefore they are
poor conductors of electricity such as sugar water, oil and alcohol.

Figure 4 Set up to detect if a liquid can conduct electricity

Why LED bulbs are more suitable for testing the electrical conductivity of liquids?

 The electric current often causes heating effect due to which the filament of the bulb gets heated up
and glows.
 However, some liquids are capable of conducting electricity but they are weak conductors of
electricity. Hence current passes through them but it is not that strong enough to heat up the filament. As a
result, the filament would not light up in the case of such liquids.
 However, the LED bulbs can detect the flow of even a small amount of electric current as well.
Hence,
 LED (LIGHT EMITTING DIODE) bulbs are suitable for testing the electrical conductivity of
liquids.
What is electrolysis?
 The effect in which components of a compound get split due to passing an electric current through it is
called electrolysis.
ElectrolyteSolutions

An electrolyte is any salt or ionizable molecule that, when dissolved in solution, will give that solution the ability to conduct electricity. This is because when a salt dissolves, its
dissociated ions can move freely in solution, allowing a charge to flow

Figure 5 Electrolysis Process

What is an electrode?
An electrode is a conductor of electricity that can carry electric current into non-metals and other poor
conductors of electricity.

What is an electrolyte?
A solution that breaks into its ions on passing electricity through it is called an electrolyte. Electrolytes are
used in the process of electroplating.

What are an anode and cathode?

The positively charged electrode is called anode and the negatively charged electrode is called cathode.

What are ions ?

Ions are charged particles .

It is of two types-

anions and cations?

An anion is a negatively charged ion and a cation is a positively charged ion.

Effects of an electric current

 Heating effect: electric current causes heating of the electrical equipment. For example, the filament
of a bulb gets heated up due to electric current and therefore glows.

 Mechanical effect: electric current can lead to generation of mechanical energy in appliances. For
example, fans and motors work due to this effect.
 Magnetic effect: electric current can give rise to the magnetic field of a substance.

 Chemical effect: electric current can lead to the production of chemical energy or chemical reactions.
 Chemical effects of electric current

We know that when an electric current passes through solution it ionizes and breaks down into ions. This is
because of chemical reactions that take place when an electric current passes through a solution. Depending
on the nature of the solution and the electrodes used, the following effects can be observed in the solution:
1. metallic deposits on the electrodes
2. change in the colour of the solution
3. a release of gas or production of bubbles in the solution

Applications of chemical effects of electric current : Electroplating

 Electroplating is a process in which layer of metal is deposited on another material with the help of
electricity.
 Electroplating is used in many industries for depositing a layer of metal with desired characteristics
on another metal.
 Different metals used for electroplating are Nickel, Copper, Gold Silver, Tin, Brass, Zinc, Chromium
and Platinum.

Process of electroplating
 In order to conduct electroplating right electrodes and electrolytes must be chosen so that metal can
deposit over a material.
 For instance, if we want to deposit copper on a material we need an electrolyte that contains copper
in it. Similarly, if we need gold on a material we need an electrolyte that contains gold in it.
 Also, we should make sure that the electrode that we are choosing is completely clean.
 The electrodes used are made up of different materials. One of the electrodes is of the same metal of
which the electrolyte solution is. The second electrode needs to be the material on which we want to coat
another metal.
 For instance, in case we want to plate copper upon brass, one electrode should be of Copper and the
other electrode should be of Brass and the electrolyte solution should be any salt which contains copper in it,
for example, copper sulphate solution. Consider the diagram given below that describes the process of
electroplating of copper.

Figure 6 Electroplating of copper on brass

 Out of these two electrodes the copper electrode acts as the anode (positive electrode) and brass
electrode acts as the cathode (negative electrode).
 When electricity is passed through the solution, the copper sulphate breaks down into its ions.
 The copper ions (they have a positive charge) get attracted by the brass electrode while the sulphur
ions being negatively charged move towards the copper electrode.
 As a result, copper starts depositing on the brass electrode.
 The process of electroplating takes some time to complete.
 The amount of time that it will take depends upon the strength of the current that is being passed
through the circuit and also upon the concentration of the electrolyte.
 As these two are increased the speed of the electroplating process also increases.
Applications of electroplating

Figure 7 Electroplated Objects

 Medical equipment is made up of nickel which is harmful to the human body hence to avoid it from
coming in contact with our body a coating of platinum or gold is applied on the surface of nickel.
 Many kitchen equipments, bath taps, parts of cars etc. are covered with chromium coating.
Chromium is an expensive metal hence the objects are created with the cheaper metal and chromium coating
is provided. Thus, to bring a shining over the objects and prevent them from corrosion chromium coating is
used.
 Jewellery makers often make ornaments of less expensive metals and provide a coating of gold or
silver upon them.
 The tin cans that are used to store food are actually made up of iron and have a coating of tin on
them. Iron can easily react with food and spoil it, however, tin prevents the food from getting reacted with
iron and therefore helps in preventing it from getting spoiled easily.
 Bridges and various parts of automobiles are made up of iron because it provides strength. However
in order to prevent iron from getting rusted a coating of zinc is provided over it. This method is also called
galvanization of iron.

Other applications of Chemical Effect of Electric Current

1. Extracting metals from their ores

Pure metals are extracted from metal ores with the process of electrolysis. Electricity is passed through the
metal ores and they get broken down into an ionic lattice and thus the metal is obtained separately. For
example, metals like aluminium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium are obtained from their ores in
this way.
Figure 8 Extraction of Aluminium

2. Purification of metals
The method of electrolysis is also used to purify a metal by separating it from the impurities. The impure
metal is used as an anode which first dissolves in the electrolyte solution and then deposits on the cathode in
the pure form. The impurities of the metal remain in the electrolyte solution only. Metals like aluminium,
zinc and copper are purified in this way.

Figure 9 Purification of Copper using Electroplating

3. Production of compounds
The electrolysis method is used for the production of some compounds. For example, sodium hydro chlorite
4. Decomposition of compounds
The electrolysis method is also used to decompose a compound into its constituents. For example, water can
be decomposed using the process of electrolysis to obtain hydrogen and oxygen.
Figure 10 Decomposing water to separate hydrogen and oxygen

NCERT QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK-

Key words- *

Find in notes and Do these by yourself

Electrode-
Electroplating-
Good conductor-
Poor conductor-
LED-

Q.1.  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_________ effect.
           (c) If you pass current through copper sulphate 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 metallic object, by means of
electricity, is culled __________.
Ans. (a) acids, bases, salts
           (b) chemical
           (c) negative
           (d) electroplating.

Q.2.  When the free ends of a tester are dipped into a solution the magnetic needle shows deflection. Can
you a plain the reason?
Ans. Yes, we can explain the reason. The magnetic needle will show deflection when circuit is complete.
           The deflection ofmagnetic needle shows that the solution is a good conductor.
Q.3.  Name three liquids, which when tested in the manner shown in Mg. 14.1 may cause the magnetic
needle to defieet
Ans. Tap water, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide.
Q.4.  The bulb does not glow in the set up shown in Fig .14.2. List the possible reasons. Explain your
answer.

Ans. The possible reasons may be:

           (i) The connections of the circuit may b loose.
           (ii) Bulb may b fused.
           (iii) Cells may be used up.
           (iv) The liquid may be poor conductor.
Q.5.  A tester is used to check the conduction of electricity through two liquids, labelled A and B. It is found
that the bulb of the tester glows brightly for liquid A while it glows very dimly for liquid B. You would
conclude that:
           (i) liquid A is a better conductor than liquid B.
           (ii) liquid B is a better conductor than liquid A.
           (iii) both liquids are equally conducting.
           (iv) conducting properties of liquid cannot be compared in this r an.rr.er, Ans, We conclude that
option (i) ‘liquid A is a better conductor than liquid B'.
Q.6.  Does pure water conduct electricity? If not what can we do to make it conducting?
Ans. No, the pure water does not conduct electricity. Pure water can be made conduct' dissolving salt in it.
Q.7.  In case of a fire before the firemen use the water hoses, they shut off the main electrical supply for the
area. Explain why they do this.
Ans. The water used in water hoses is good conductor of electricity. Firemen shut off the main electrical
supply, because if the supply of electricity continues this may be high risk of electrocution due to water.
Q.8.  A child staying in the coastal region tests the drinking water and also the sea water with his tester. He
finds that the compass needle deflects more in the case of sea water. Can you explain the reason?
Ans. Sea water contains more amount of salt than drinking water. So the sea water is a better conductor of
electricity. This is the reason that the compass needle deflects more in case of sea water.
Q.9.  Is it safe for the electrician to carry out electrical repairs outdoors during heavy down-pour? Explain.
Ans. No, It is not safe for the electrician can’t carry out electrical repairs during heavy downpour.
because during heavy downpour there is a higher risk of electrocution due to presence of acid and salt in
rain , which can easily pass electric current.

Q.10.  Paheli had heard that rain water is as good as distilled water. So she collected some rain water in a
clean glass tumbler and tested it using a tester. To her surprise she found that the compass needle showed
deflection. What could be the reasons?
Ans. Rain water is like a distilled water but some impurities are mixed in from the atmosphere. These
impurities make the rain water conducting. This could be the reason for the deflection of compass needle.
Q.11.  Prepare a It of objects around you that are electroplated.
Ans. Pots of metals, bath taps, ornaments, rims of vehicles, handle bar of cycles and motor cycles, kitchen
gas burner, bottom of cooking utensils, handles of doors, tin cans are the some objects around us that are
electroplated.
Q.12.  The process that you saw in Activity 14.7 is used for purification of copper. A thin plate of pure
copper and a thick rod of impure copper are used as electrodes. Copper from impure rod is sought to be
transude to the thin copperplate. Which electrode should be attached to the positive terminal of the battery
and why?
Ans. The rod of copper plate should be connected to the positive terminal of the battery. Because when
electric current is passed through the copper sulphate solution, it dissociates into copper and sulphate. The
free copper drawn to the negative terminal of the battery gets deposited on it. On the other hand the loss of
copper from the solution would be regained from the impure copper rod which is connected to the positive
terminal of the battery.