CHEMISTRY

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
TOPIC: Variance in conductivity of solution
PROJECT BY: Chinmay Shah
CLASS: XII-B
GUIDED BY: Mrs Priyanka Sinha
BOARD ROLL NO:

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Chinmay Shah ,
student of class XII-B has successfully
completed the Chemistry Project under
the guidance of Mrs Priyanka Sinha.
This project is genuine and is not
plagiarism of any kind. The references
used in making this project file are
declared at the end of the file.
Externals Sign:

Internals
Sign

______________

_____________

Principals signature
School stamp

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks
to the Principal, Mrs Murial Fernandez, Ryan
International School, Sanpada for her encouragement
and for all the facilities she has provided for this project
work.
I extend my hearty thanks to my subject teacher Mrs
Priyanka Sinha and Lab Assistant Devesh Sir who
guided me to the successful completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of
gratitude for their invaluable guidance, constant
encouragement and immense motivation which has
sustained my efforts at all stages of this project work. I
cant forget to offer my sincere thanks to my
classmates who helped me to carry out this project
work successfully and for their valuable advice and
support which I received for them time to time.

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

INDEX
Sr No.

Contents

Page No.

Aim of the Experiment

Introduction

Apparatus Required

Theory

Procedure

10

Physical Constants

13

Observation and Graph

14

Result

20

Conclusion

21

10

Precautions

22

11

Bibliography

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Chemistry Investigatory Project

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AIM

To find the variation of conductance

with temperature and concentration in
electrolytes

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

INTRODUCTION
Conductivity is the ability of a solution to pass an
electric current.
This depends on a number of factors including
concentration, mobility of the ions, valence of the
ions and temperature. As the temperature of a
solution increases, the mobility of the ions in the
solution also increases and consequently this will
lead to an increase in its conductivity.
Pure water does not conduct electricity, but any
solvated ionic species would contribute to conduction
of electricity. An ionically conducting solution is
called an electrolyte solution and the compound,
which produces the ions as it dissolves, is called an
electrolyte.
The conductivity of an electrolyte solution depends
on concentration of the ionic species and behaves
differently for strong and weak electrolytes. The
conductivity also changes with change in
temperature due to difference in viscosity of liquid.
In this work the electric conductivity of water
containing various electrolytes will be studied with
varying temperature and concentration.
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APPARATUS REQUIRED

1) Glass beakers;
2) CuSO4 solution;
3) ZnSO4 solution;
4) Rheostat;
5) Bunsen Burner;
6) Ammeter;
7) Voltmeter;
8) Thermometer;
9) Measuring Flask;
10) Electrodes;
11) Tripod Stand;
12) Wire Gauze;
13) Weighing Scale;
14) Spatulas and Stirrers;

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

THEORY
Movement of ions in water can be studied by
installing a pair of electrodes into the liquid and by
introducing a potential difference between the
electrodes. Like metallic conducting materials,
electrolyte solutions follow Ohms law:
R = V/I
where R is the resistance (,ohms), V is the
potential
difference (V,Volts) ,and I is the current
(A,Amperes).
1
Conductance G (S, Siemens or ) is then defined
as reciprocal of the resistance:

G = 1/R
Conductance of a given liquid sample decreases
when the distance between the electrodes increases
and increases when the effective area of the
electrodes increases. This is shown in the following
relation:
G=
where is the conductivity (S m1 ), A is the crosssectional area of the electrodes (m2 ; i.e., the effective
area available for conducting electrons through the
liquid), and l is the distance between the electrodes
(m).
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2
1
Molar conductivity m (S m mol ) is defined as:

m = / c
where c is the molar concentration of the added
electrolyte.
The factors which affect the electrical conductivity of
the solutions are:
1. The nature of the electrolyte added;
2. Size of the ions produced and dissolution;
3. The nature of the solvent and its viscosity;
4. Concentration of the electrolyte;
5. Temperature (it increases with the increase of
temperature);
The variation is different for strong and weak
electrolytes.
For Strong Electrolytes, It is given according to the
equation:

are the molar conductance at a given

concentration and at infinite dilution (respectively). b is
a constant depending on the viscosity of the
solvent.

decreases as the concentration increases.

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PROCEDURE
The electrolyte chosen is CuSO4
1.5g of CuSO4 is measured and put in a solution

containing constant volume of 150 mL:

The vessel and electrodes are removed and the
vessel is cleaned and filled with CuSO4 solution.
The electrodes are refitted back into the vessel at
their original place so that the distance between
them does not change. A thermometer is also put in
the electrolyte.
Current is passed and when the Voltmeter and
Ammeter show steady readings, they are noted at a
constant temperature which is recorded by the
thermometer.

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Ammeter and Voltmeter readings taken

When the current is switched off -

- It is seen that while the reading of the current

returns at once to 0 position, the voltmeter needle

pauses for a while at a particular reading which is
noted down.

- This reading indicates the back EMF in the

electrolyte.

Similarly, more sets of reading are taken at same, as

well as different values of temperature along with
different values of concentration [with 1.5g, 3g, 7g].
Temperature is changed my supplying heat through
a Bunsen Burner.
Value of Resistance is calculated using Ohms Law.
Thus, the value of conductance is also calculated.
The switched on circuit readings in voltmeter and
ammeter are noted.
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The current through the electrolyte is changed by

adjusting the rheostat and more sets of readings are
taken. Voltage is also changed.
Thus, the mean value of resistance is calculated.
Above steps are repeated for ZnSO4 as electrolyte
and the readings are recorded at different values of
temperature and at different concentration of the
solution. The mass taken is 5g,7g and 9g and volume
of the solution is 150 mL.

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PHYSICAL CONSTANTS
For the purpose of accuracy and convenience, some
important aspects of the electrolyte process are kept
constant in the experiment as their variation might
affect the conductivity of the electrolyte. They are:

VOLTAGE;
NATURE OF ELECTRODES;
SIZE OF ELECTRODES;
SEPARATION BETWEEN ELECTRODES;
VOLUME OF THE ELECTROLYTES [150 mL];

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OBSERVATION
For CuSO4 electrolyte:
Concentration Temperature

Ammeter
reading[I]

Voltmeter
reading [V]

Resistance
R=V / I

Conductance
G=1 / R

(M)

(mA)

(V)

()

(S)

(C)
0.0626

0.125

0.292

33

17.56

2.35

134.603

0.0074

35

17.62

2.35

133.333

0.0075

50

17.74

2.15

121.168

0.0083

33

33.032

2.1

69.369

0.0144

35

33.250

2.005

66.6665

0.0150

43

38.353

1.565

57.530

0.0173

50

23.748

2.13

50.584

0.0197

35

17.465

2.023

35.333

0.0283

40

7.9193

1.406

17.754

0.0458

50

9.2486

1.523

16.467

0.0607

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Temperature vs. Conductance (keeping Concentration

Constant):

0.07

0.06

0.05

Conductance

0.0626 M
0.04
0.125 M
0.03
0.292 M

0.02

0.01

35.0 36.0 37.0 38.0 39.0 40.0 41.0 42.0 43.0 44.0 45.0 46.0 47.0 48.0 49.0 50.0

Temperature

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Concentration Vs. Conductance (Keeping

Temperature constant at 35C):

0.03

T= 35C

Conductance (S)

0.0225

0.015

0.0075

0
0.0626

0.125

Concenteration (M)

16

0.292

Chemistry Investigatory Project

Chinmay Shah

For ZnSO4 electrolyte:

Concentration

Temperature

Ammeter
reading[I]

Voltmeter
reading [V]

Resistance
R=V / I

Conductance
G=1 / R

(M)

(C)

(mA)

(V)

()

(S)

0.206

0.289

0.366

35

50.9925

3.21

6.295

0.1588

40

50.629

3.16

6.241

0.1602

50

46.098

2.85

6.182

0.1617

35

44.194

2.72

6.154

0.1624

40

42.711

2.6

6.146

0.1626

50

42.657

2.6

6.118

0.1634

35

43.366

2.66

6.133

0.1630

40

41.958

2.57

6.125

0.1632

50

42.865

2.62

6.112

0.1636

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Temperature vs. Conductance (keeping Concentration

Constant):

0.164

0.163

0.162

Conductance

0.161

0.206 M
0.289 M

0.16

0.366 M
0.159

0.158

0.157

0.156

35.0 36.0 37.0 38.0 39.0 40.0 41.0 42.0 43.0 44.0 45.0 46.0 47.0 48.0 49.0 50.0

Temperature

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Concentration Vs. Conductance (Keeping

Temperature constant at 35C):

0.1635

T= 35C

Conductance (S)

0.162

0.1605

0.159

0.1575

0.156
0.206

Concenteration (M)

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0.289

0.366

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RESULT

The relevant graphs shows that the 1 / Resistance

of an electrolyte increases at a steady rate as the
temperature increases.

Also, Conductivity vs. Concentration graphs

increase Linearly at a constant given temperature
of an electrolyte.

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CONCLUSION
On heating a solution, it is known that viscosity

gradually decreases, with decrease in viscosity,

the speed and movement of the ions increases. In
other words, the conductance of the electrolyte
increases with increase in temperature. Hence,
the result of the experiment agrees with
reasoning.

On increasing the concentration of the electrolyte

the conductivity increases due to increase in

number of ions of solute i.e increase in no. of ions
of CuSO4 and ZnSO4. Solvent i.e water is kept
constant at 150 mL.

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PRECAUTIONS

Variation of resistance due to one of the factors should

be kept constant.
The electrodes used in each case should always be kept
parallel to each other.
The solution should be kept undisturbed throughout the
experiment.
For each observation, three readings are taken and the
mean value is considered.
The distance between the electrodes should be kept
constant.
Thermometers bulb should be suspended completely
into the solution.
The solute should be completely dissolved in water.
The electrodes should not touch each other and the
distance between them should be constant.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
Chemistry (Part I) Textbook for Class XII; National
Council of Educational Research and Training
Concepts of Physics 2 by H C Verma; Bharti
Bhawan(Publishers & Distributors)
WEB LINKS:
www.icbse.com
http://www.jenway.com/adminimages/A02_001A_Effect_of
_temperature_on_conductivity.pdf
http://www.researchgate.net/
http://www.emedicalprep.com/studymaterial/chemistry/electro-chemistry/electrolyticconductance-factors.html
en.wikipedia.org
http://chem-guide.blogspot.in/2010/04/variation-ofconductivity-with.html

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