CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC

CURRENT

SCIENCE
CHEMISTRY
CLASS 8
 INTRODUCTION
1)Conductors and Insulators
2)Do Liquids conduct Electricity
3)What is an Electric circuit?
4)Conduction of Electricity in water
5)Chemical effectes of Electric current
CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS
 Conductors is a substance or an object which will allow
electric current to pass through it.
 All metals are Good Conductors of electricity

 Insulators is a substance or an object which will not allow

electric current to pass through it.
 All Non-metals are insulators
 Except Graphite All Non-metals are Bad conductors of
electricity.
 Examples are Rubber, Glass, Oil, Diamond and Dry wood.
LIQUIDS CONDUCT ELECTRICITY
 Liquids that conduct electricity are solutions of acids, bases or
salts.
 Liquids conduct Electricity when there are salts dissolved in the
liquid.
 Water is a good conductor of electricity where as distilled water is
an insulator.

 Acids, Bases and salts are chemical substances that forms ions
when dissolved in solutions. It this these ions that conduct
electricity.

 Sugar. Petrol, kerosone and honey do not conduct electricity

LIQUIDS CONDUCT ELECTRICITY
To test whether liquid allows electric current to pass through
it or not, we can design the tester as shown below. Also,
before using the tester we should check whether it is working
or not
LIQUIDS CONDUCT ELECTRICITY
Join the free ends of the tester together for a moment. This
completes the circuit of the tester and the bulb should glow.
However, if the bulb does not glow, it means that the tester is
not working. Check the connections/the bulb and the battery
used.
 ACTIVITY WITH ACIDS
Collect a few small plastic or rubber caps of discarded bottles and clean
them. Pour one teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar in one cap. Bring
your tester over this cap and let the ends of the tester dip into lemon
juice or vinegar as shown Take care that the ends are not more than 1
cm apart but at the same time do not touch each other. Does the bulb of
the tester glow? Does lemon juice or vinegar conduct electricity? How
would you classify lemon juice or vinegar— a good conductor or a
poor conductor?

BULB
GLOW
S
 ACTIVITY WITH ACIDS
When the liquid ( LEMON JUICE) between the two ends of the tester allows the
electric current to pass, the circuit of the tester becomes complete. The current
flows in the circuit and the bulb glows.

When the liquid does not allow the electric current to pass, the circuit of the tester
is not complete and the bulb does not glow.

In some situations even though the liquid is conducting, the bulb may not glow.
WHY THE BULB GLOWS ?
Do you remember why the bulb glows when the electric current passes
through it?

Due to the heating effect of current, the filament of the bulb gets heated
to a high temperature and it starts glowing.

However, if the current through a circuit is too weak, the filament does
not get heated sufficiently and it does not glow.

Why is the current in the circuit weak?

Well, though a material may conduct electricity, it may not conduct it

as easily as a metal. As a result, the circuit of the tester may be
complete and yet the current through it may be too weak to make the
bulb glow.
MAGNETIC EFFECT OF CURRENT
The magnetic compass shows deflection when there is a flow of electric current
nearby. Even if the current is small, the deflection of the magnetic needle can be
seen. Using this principle we are going to make an electric circuit.

Take the tray from inside a discarded matchbox. Wrap an electric wire a few times
around the tray. Place a small compass needle inside it. Now connect one free end of
the wire to the terminal of a battery. Leave the other end free. Take another piece of
wire and connect it to the other terminal of the battery.
 TESTING OF TAP WATER
Join the free ends of two wires momentarily. The compass needle should
show deflection. Your tester with two free ends of the wire is ready.

We find a deflection in the compass needle the moment you dip the free
ends of the tester in lemon juice.

Take out the ends of the tester from the lemon juice, dip them in water and
then wipe them dry. Repeat the activity with other liquids such as tap water,
vegetable oil, milk, honey. (Remember to wash and wipe dry the ends of
tester after testing each liquid). In each case observe whether the magnetic
needle shows deflection or not. Record your observations in Table 1.
Some liquids are good conductors of electricity and some are poor conductors.
Under certain conditions most materials can conduct. Hence materials are
classified as good conductors and poor conductors instead of classifying as
conductors and insulators.

LIQUID COMPASS GOOD/BAD

NEEDLE CONDUCTOR
SHOWS
DEFLECTION
(YES/NO)
LEMON JUICE YES Good conductor
VINEGAR YES Good conductor
TAP WATER YES Good conductor
MILK YES Good conductor
HONEY No Bad Conductor
VEGETABLE No Bad Conductor
OIL
DISTILLED No Bad Conductor
TESTING OF DISTILLED WATER
Take about two teaspoonfuls of distilled water in a clean and
dry plastic or rubber cap of a bottle.

Use the tester to test whether distilled water conducts

electricity or not. Does distilled water conduct electricity? -
NO

Now dissolve a pinch of common salt in distilled water. Again

test. What do you conclude this time ? - YES
TESTING OF DISTILLED WATER
When salt is dissolved in distilled water, we obtain salt solution. This is a
conductor of electricity.

The water that we get from sources such as taps, hand pumps, wells and
ponds is not pure. It may contain several salts dissolved in it. This water is
thus a good conductor of electricity. On the other hand, distilled water is
free of salts and is a poor conductor.

Small amounts of mineral salts present naturally in water are beneficial for
human health. However, these salts make water conducting. So, we should
never handle electrical appliances with wet hands or while standing on a
wet floor.
DISTILLED WATER + ACIDS, BASES
Take three clean plastic or rubber caps of bottles. Pour about two teaspoonfuls of
distilled water in each of them. Add a few drops of lemon juice or dilute
hydrochloric acid to distilled water in one cap. Now in the second cap containing
distilled water, add a few drops of a base such as caustic soda or potassium iodide.
Add a little sugar to the distilled water in the third cap and dissolve it. Test which
solutions conduct electricity and which do not. What results do you obtain?

Distilled
Distilled Distilled
Water
Water Water
+
+ +
Lemon juice
Base Sugar
or HCl
 William Nicholson

In 1800, a British chemist, William Nicholson

(1753–1815), had shown that if electrodes were
immersed in water, and a current was passed,
bubbles of oxygen and hydrogen were produced.
Oxygen bubbles formed on the electrode
connected to the positive terminal of the battery
and hydrogen bubbles formed on the other
electrode.
 CHEMICAL EFFECTS
When an electric current passes through a solution, it ionizes and breaks
down into ions.
This is because of the chemical reaction that happens in the solution.

 Metallic deposits.

 Release of gases ( bubble formation).

 Change in the colour of the solution.

 CHEMICAL EFFECTS
ELECTRODES :

An electrode is a solid electric conductor that carries electric current into non-
metallic solids, or liquids, or gases, or plasmas, or vacuums.

ELECTROLYTE:

The solution in which the electrodes are submerged and electric current is passed,
as a result of it, changes happen in the solution.

ELECTROCHEMICAL/ELECTROLYTIC CELL :

The electrodes, electrolyte and the battery together forms –

ELECTROCHEMICAL/ELECTROLYTIC CELL
 CHEMICAL EFFECTS
In a electrochemical cell, Oxidation, reduction and redox reactions happens.

Oxidation :
The reaction in which oxygen is gained or hydrogen is lost, is called oxidation reaction.

Reduction :
The reaction in which hydrogen is gained or oxygen is lost, is called reduction reaction.

The electrode at which reduction takes places is called the cathode. – Negative electrode
The electrode at which oxidation takes place at the anode – Positive electrode

PANIC – Positive is ANODE, Negative Is Cathode

CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC
Chemical effects of electric current
CURRENT

A CATION has more protons than electrons, consequently giving it a net

positive charge.

An ANION has more electrons than protons, consequently giving it a net

negative charge.
Activity - ACTIVITY
We will need copper sulphate and two copper plates of size around 10 cm × 4 cm.
Take 250 mL of distilled water in a clean and dry beaker. Dissolve two teaspoonfuls of
copper sulphate in it. Add a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid to copper sulphate solution to
make it more conducting. Clean copper plates with sand paper. Now rinse them with water
and dry them. Connect the copper plates to the terminals of a battery and immerse them in
copper sulphate solution. Allow the current to pass for about 15 minutes. Now remove the
electrodes from the solution and look at them carefully. Do you find any difference in any
one of them? Do you find a coating over it? What colour is the coating? Note down the
terminal of the battery with which this electrode is connected.
 ELECTROPLATING
When electric current is passed through the copper sulphate solution, copper sulphate
dissociates into copper and sulphate. The free copper gets drawn to the electrode connected
to the negative terminal of the battery and gets deposited on it. But what about the loss of
copper from the solution?
From the other electrode, a copper plate, an equal amount of copper gets dissolved in the
solution. Thus, the loss of copper from the solution is restored and the process keeps going.
This means that copper gets transferred from one electrode to the other.
 ELECTROPLATING
The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another material by
means of electricity is called electroplating. It is one of the most common
applications of chemical effects of electric current.

Electroplating is a very useful process. It is widely used in industry for coating

metal objects with a thin layer of a different metal. The layer of metal deposited
has some desired property, which the metal of the object lacks. For example,
chromium plating is done on many objects such as car parts, bath taps, kitchen
gas burners, bicycle handlebars, wheel rims and many others.

Chromium has a shiny appearance. It does not corrode. It resists scratches.

However, chromium is expensive and it may not be economical to make the
whole object out of chromium. So the object is made from a cheaper metal and
only a coating of chromium over it is deposited.
 ELECTROPLATING
ELECTROPLATING
Jewellery makers electroplate silver and gold on less expensive metals. These
ornaments have the appearance of silver or gold but are much less expensive.

Tin cans, used for storing food, are made by electroplating tin onto iron. Tin is less
reactive than iron. Thus, food does not come into contact with iron and is protected
from getting spoilt.
Iron is used in bridges and automobiles to provide strength. However, iron tends to
corrode and rust. So, a coating of zinc is deposited on iron to protect it from
corrosion and formation of rust.
 SUMMARY
 Some liquids are good conductors of electricity and some are poor
conductors.
 Most liquids that conduct electricity are solutions of acids, bases and
salts.
 The passage of an electric current through a conducting liquid causes
chemical reactions.
 The resulting effects are called chemical effects of currents.
 The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another
material, by means of electricity, is called electroplating.