Iconic Compounds in Alcohol / Water?

Question

Do Iconic Compounds conduct electricity in Alcohol? Why or Why not?

Also, why is distilled water not supposed to conduct electricity?

Lastly, does Alcohol and does Ammonia (separately) conduct electricity and why/why not?

Thanks

Answer 1

Ionic compounds do not conduct electricity in alcohol, because they do not dissolve in alcohol. Distilled water contains so electrolytes, so naturally it does not conduct electricity. Similarly, alcohol and ammonia (a solution of ammonia in water) has no electrolytes and so does not conduct electricity.

Answer 2

1) Ionic compounds will dissolve in solvents where they can ionize (hmmm...tricky - maybe from the name). Ions can exist in solutions where they are stabilized by the solvent which has to be polar. Alcohol - either ethyl alcohol or methyl alcohol - is moderately polar and will dissolve some amounts of some ionic compounds. Once these compounds are dissolved, they will provide ions in solution (I seem to be going in circles) and the ions will interact with the electrodes, picking up electrons from one and losing electrons at the other electrode. This causes chemical reactions to occur and closes the circuit so that the solution conducts electricity.
2) Distilled water does not contain any ions (or actually very very small amounts of them) and therefore there is nothing to carry the electrons or conduct the electricity.
3) Alcohol by itself does not contain ions, thus no conduction. Now it depends on what you mean when you say Ammonia. Ammonia by itself is a gas at room temp and pressure NH3 and doesn't contain any ions, thus no conduction. We also sometimes speak of a solution of ammonia gas in water as ammonia. This would give a weak base by the reaction:
NH3 + H2O --> NH4^+ + OH^-
and we would have some ions to carry some charge. Since it is a weak base it would only form a few ions and the electricity it carries would not be as much as something like NaCl in water.

Answer 3

2 .why is distilled water not supposed to conduct electricity?
water in nature is solution of many ionic compound substances, it has cations and anions. Thus water in nature can conduct electricity. However, after being distilled, water is no more solution of any substances, thus is doesn't has cations or anions to conduct electricity
3 Alcohol can't conduct electricity, but Ammonia can because it is a base, and any solution of base or acid or salt is a conductor

Answer 4

no, they dont. because the property lead to the electricity conducted is eletrolytic ( the number of ion or charge particles in the compound )

H2O do not conduct electricity because it a weak electrolytic compound.

Alcohol do not conduct electricity ( the same explaination )

Ammonia is a weak conductor because it electrolytic in water

NH3 + H20 -> NH4+ ( cation) +OH- ( anion )