CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF

ELECTRIC CURRENT

Y
our elders might have cautioned plastic and wood do not conduct
you against touching an electrical electricity. However, so far we have used
appliance with wet hands. But our tester to test materials which were
do you know why it is dangerous to in solid state. But what about liquids?
touch an electrical appliance with wet Do liquids also conduct electricity? Let
hands? us find out.
We have learnt earlier that the
materials, which allow electric current
to pass through them, are good Paheli and Boojho want to
conductors of electricity. On the other remind you that one
hand, materials, which do not allow should not experiment
electric current to pass through them with the electric supply
easily, are poor conductors of electricity. from the mains or a
In Class VI, we made a tester to test generator or an inverter.
whether a particular material allows the Use only electric cells for
electric current to pass through it or not. all the activities suggested
here.
Do you recall how the tester helped us
in deciding that?
We found that metals such as copper 11.1 Do Liquids Conduct
and aluminium conduct electricity Electricity?
whereas materials such as rubber,
To test whether a liquid allows electric
current to pass through it or not, we
can use the same tester (Fig.11.1).

Fig.11.1 : A tester

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However, replace the cell by a battery.
of the tester glow? Does lemon juice
Also, before using the tester we
or vinegar conduct electricity? How
should check whether it is working
would you classify lemon juice or
or not.
vinegar— a good conductor or a poor
conductor?
Activity 11.1
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. Can
you think of the possible reasons?
Is it possible that the connections
are loose? Or, the bulb is fused? Or,
your cells are used up? Check that
all the connections are tight. If they
are, then replace the bulb with
another bulb. Now test if the tester
is working or not. If it is still not Fig. 11.2 : Testing conduction of electricity in
working then replace the cells with lemon juice or vinegar
fresh cells.
When the liquid between the two
Now that our tester is working, let ends of the tester allows the electric
us use it to test the various liquids. current to pass, the circuit of the tester
(Caution: While checking your tester, becomes complete. The current flows in
the circuit and the bulb glows. When
do not join its free ends for more than a
the liquid does not allow the electric
few seconds. Otherwise the cells of the
current to pass, the circuit of the tester
battery will drain very quickly.)
is not complete and the bulb does not
glow.
Activity 11.2
In some situations even though the
Collect a few small plastic or rubber liquid is conducting, the bulb may not
caps of discarded bottles and clean g l o w . It may have happened in
them. Pour one teaspoon of lemon Activity 11.2. What can be the reason?
juice or vinegar in one cap. Bring Do you remember why the bulb
your tester over this cap and let the glows when the electric current passes
ends of the tester dip into lemon juice through it? Due to the heating effect
or vinegar as shown in Fig.11.2. Take of current, the filament of the bulb gets
care that the ends are not more than heated to a high temperature and it
1 cm apart but at the same time do starts glowing. However, if the current
not touch each other. Does the bulb through a circuit is too weak, the
filament does not get heated
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sufficiently and it does not glow. And Activity 11.3
why is the current in the circuit weak?
Well, though a material may conduct Take the tray from inside a discarded
electricity, it may not conduct it as matchbox. Wrap an electric wire a few
easily as a metal. As a result, the times around the tray. Place a small
circuit of the tester may be complete compass needle inside it. Now
and yet the current through it may be connect one free end of the wire to
too weak to make the bulb glow. Can the terminal of a battery. Leave the
we make another tester which can other end free. Take another piece of
detect a weak current? wire and connect it to the other
terminal of the battery (Fig. 11.4).
We can use another effect of an electric
current to make another kind of tester.
Do you recall that electric current
produces a magnetic effect? What
happens to a compass needle kept nearby
when current flows in a wire? Even if
the current is small, the deflection of the
magnetic needle can be seen. Can we
make a tester using the magnetic
effect of currents? Let us find out in
Activity 11.3.
You may use an LED (Fig. 11.3) in
Fig 11.4 : Another tester
place of the electric bulb in the tester
of Fig. 11.2. LED glows even when a Join the free ends of two wires
weak electric current flows through momentarily. The compass needle
it. should show deflection. Your tester
There are two wires (called leads) with two free ends of the wire is ready.
attached to an LED. One lead is Now repeat Activity 11.2 using this
slightly longer than the other. tester. Do you find a deflection in the
Remember that while connecting to compass needle the moment you dip
a circuit, the longer lead is always the free ends of the tester in lemon
connected to the positive terminal of
juice?
the battery and the shorter lead is
Take out the ends of the tester
connected to the negative terminal of
the battery. 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
Fig. 11.3 : LEDs observations in Table 11.1.

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 Table 11.1 : Good/Poor Conducting Liquids
S.No. Material Compass Needle Shows Good Conductor/
Deflection Yes/No Poor Conductor
1. Lemon juice Yes Good Conductor
2. Vinegar
3. Tap Water
4. Vegetable oil
5. Milk
6. Honey
7.
8.
9.
10.

From Table 11.1, we find that some We have tested the conduction of
liquids are good conductors of electricity electricity through tap water. Let us now
and some are poor conductors. test the conduction of electricity through
distilled water.

When the free ends of the

Activity 11.4
tester do not touch each Take about two teaspoonfuls of
other, there is an air gap distilled water in a clean and dry
between them. Paheli knows
plastic or rubber cap of a bottle. (You
that air is a poor conductor of
may obtain distilled water from your
electricity. But she has also read
that during lightning, an electric school science lab. You may also get
current passes through air. She distilled water from a medical store
wonders if air is indeed a poor or a doctor or a nurse). Use the tester
conductor under all conditions. to test whether distilled water
This makes Boojho ask whether conducts electricity or not. What do
other materials classified as you find? Does distilled water
poor conductors also allow conduct electricity? Now dissolve a
electricity to pass under pinch of common salt in distilled
certain conditions. water. Again test. What do you
conclude this time?

Actually, under certain conditions When salt is dissolved in distilled

most materials can conduct. That is why water, we obtain salt solution. This is a
it is preferable to classify materials as conductor of electricity.
good conductors and poor conductors The water that we get from sources
instead of classifying as conductors and such as taps, hand pumps, wells and
insulators. ponds is not pure. It may contain
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several salts dissolved in it. Small Most liquids that conduct electricity
amounts of mineral salts are naturally are solutions of acids, bases and salts.
present in it. This water is thus a good When an electric current flows
conductor of electricity. On the other through a conducting solution, does it
hand, distilled water is free of salts and produce an effect on the solution?
is a poor conductor.
11.2 Chemical Effects of
Electric Current
Small amounts of mineral salts
present naturally in water are In Class VII, we have learnt some effects
beneficial for human health. of electric current. Can you list these
However, these salts make water effects? What effect does the current
a good conductor. So, we should produce when it flows through a
never handle electrical conducting solution? Let us find out.
appliances with wet hands or
while standing on a wet floor. Activity 11.6
We have found that common salt, Take out carbon rods carefully from
when dissolved in distilled water, makes
two discarded cells. Clean their
it a good conductor. What are the other
metal caps with sand paper. Wrap
substances which, when dissolved in
copper wires around the metal caps
distilled water, make it conducting? Let
us find out. of the carbon rods and join them to
a battery (Fig. 11.5). We call these
Caution: Do the next activity under the two rods electrodes. (Instead of
supervision of your teacher/parent or
some elderly person, because the use of
acid is involved in it.

Activity 11.5
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 Metal Cap
drops of a base such as caustic soda
or potassium iodide. Add a little sugar Carbon Carbon
to the distilled water in the third cap rod rod
and dissolve it. Test which solutions
conduct electricity and which do not. Water
What results do you obtain? Fig.11.5 : Passing current through water

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 carbon rods, you may take two iron
nails about 6 cm long .) Pour a
cupful of water in a glass/plastic Boojho decided to test
bowl. Add a teaspoonful of salt or a whether some fruits and
vegetables also conduct
few drops of lemon juice to water to
electricity or not. He cut
make it more conducting. Now a potato into two halves and
immerse the electrodes in this inserted the copper wires of a tester
solution. Make sure that the metal into it. Just then his mother called
caps of the carbon rods are outside him and he forgot to take out the
the water. Wait for 3-4 minutes. wires of the tester inserted into the
Observe the electrodes carefully. Do potato. When he came back after
you notice any gas bubbles near the half an hour, he noticed that there
was a greenish blue spot on the
electrodes? Can we call the change
potato around one wire whereas
taking place in the solution a there was no such spot around the
chemical change? Recall the other wire (Fig. 11.6).
definition of a chemical change that
you learnt in Class VII.

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 Fig. 11.6 : Testing potato
connected to the positive terminal of
He was surprised with this
the battery and hydrogen bubbles
observation and along with Paheli
formed on the other electrode.
repeated this activity many times. They
The passage of an electric current found that it was always the wire
through a conducting solution causes connected to the positive terminal,
which had a greenish blue spot around
chemical reactions. As a result, bubbles
it. They felt that this discovery was very
of a gas may be formed on the electrodes. useful because it could be used for
Deposits of metal may be seen on identifying the positive terminal of a
electrodes. Changes of colour of cell or a battery concealed in a box.
solutions may occur. The reaction would They decided to report their finding to
depend on what solution and electrodes a children’s magazine.
are used. These are some of the chemical Remember that Boojho set out to
effects of the electric current. test whether potato conducted

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 electricity or not. What he found was
that current produced a chemical
effect in the potato. To him this was
very exciting. In fact, this is how
science sometimes works. You are
looking for something and you
discover something else. Many
Copper plate
important discoveries have been
made in this manner.
Copper plate Copper sul-
11.3 Electroplating phate
solution
You know that a brand new bicycle has
shiny handlebar and wheel rims. Fig.11.7 : A simple circuit showing
However, if these are accidentally electroplating
scratched, the shiny coating comes off Allow the current to pass for
revealing a not so shiny surface beneath. about 15 minutes. Now remove the
You might have also seen women using electrodes from the solution and
ornaments, which appear to be made of look at them carefully. Do you find
gold. However, with repeated use, the any difference in any one of them?
gold coating wears off, revealing silver or Do you find a coating over it? What
some other metal beneath. colour is the coating? Note down the
In both these cases, a metal has a terminal of the battery with which
coating of another metal. Do you wonder this electrode is connected.
how a layer of one metal can be
deposited on top of another? Well, let
us try doing it ourselves. After doing the electroplating
activity, Paheli interchanged
Activity 11.7 the electrodes and repeated
We will need copper sulphate and the activity. What do you think
she would observe this time?
two copper plates of size around
10 cm × 4 cm. Take 250 mL of
distilled water in a clean and dry When electric current is passed
beaker. Dissolve two teaspoonfuls of through the copper sulphate solution,
copper sulphate in it. Add a few drops copper sulphate dissociates into
of dilute sulphuric acid to copper copper and sulphate. The free copper
sulphate solution to make it more gets drawn to the electrode connected
conducting. Clean copper plates with to the negative terminal of the battery
sand paper. Now rinse them with and gets deposited on it. But what
water and dry them. Connect the about the loss of copper from the
copper plates to the terminals of a solution?
battery and immerse them in copper From the other electrode, a copper
sulphate solution (Fig. 11.7). plate, an equal amount of copper gets
dissolved in the solution. Thus, the
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loss of copper from the solution is
restored and the process continues.
This means that copper gets
transferred from one electrode to the
other.

Boojho could get only one

copper plate. So he
performed Activity 11.7 by
connecting a carbon rod in
place of the copper plate
which was connected to
the negative terminal of
the battery. He succeeded
in obtaining a coating of
copper on carbon rod.

The process of depositing a layer of

any desired metal on another material
by means of electricity is called Fig. 11.8 : Some electroplated objects
electroplating. It is one of the most
silver and gold on less expensive metals.
common applications of chemical effects
These ornaments have the appearance
of electric current.
of silver or gold but are much less
Electroplating is a very useful
expensive.
process. It is widely used in industry
Tin cans, used for storing food, are
for coating metal objects with a thin
made by electroplating tin onto iron. Tin
layer of a different metal (Fig.11.8). The
is less reactive than iron. Thus, food
layer of metal deposited has some
does not come into contact with iron and
desired property, which the metal of the
is protected from getting spoilt.
object lacks. For example, chromium
Iron is used in bridges and
plating is done on many objects such
automobiles to provide strength.
as car parts, bath taps, kitchen gas
However, iron tends to corrode and rust.
burners, bicycle handlebars, wheel rims
So, a coating of zinc is deposited on iron
and many others.
to protect it from corrosion and
Chromium has a shiny appearance.
formation of rust.
It does not corrode. It resists scratches.
However, chromium is expensive and it In the electroplating factories the
may not be economical to make the disposal of the used conducting
whole object out of chromium. So the solution is a major concern. It is a
object is made from a cheaper metal and polluting waste and there are specific
only a coating of chromium over it is disposal guidelines to protect the
environment.
deposited. Jewellery makers electroplate
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KEYWORDS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT
ELECTRODE Ü Some liquids are good conductors of electricity

ELECTROPLATING and some are poor conductors.

Ü Most liquids that conduct electricity are
GOOD CONDUCTOR solutions of acids, bases and salts.
Ü The passage of an electric current through a
LED
conducting liquid causes chemical reactions.
POOR CONDUCTOR The resulting effects are called chemical effects
of currents.
Ü The process of depositing a layer of any desired
metal on another material, by means of
electricity, is called electroplating.

Exercises
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
______________ effects.

(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

material by means of electricity is called .

2. When the free ends of a tester are dipped into a solution, the magnetic
needle shows deflection. Can you explain the reason?
3. Name three liquids, which
when tested in the manner
shown in Fig.11.9, may
cause the magnetic needle
to deflect.

Fig. 11.9

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 4. The bulb does not glow in the setup shown in Fig.11.10. List the possible
EXERCISES reasons. Explain your answer.

Fig. 11.10
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 manner.
6. Does pure water conduct electricity? If not, what can we do to make it
conducting?

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.

8. A child staying in a coastal region tests the drinking water and also the
seawater with his tester. He finds that the compass needle deflects more
in the case of seawater. Can you explain the reason?

9. Is it safe for the electrician to carry out electrical repairs outdoors during
heavy downpour? Explain.
10. Paheli had heard that rainwater is as good as distilled water. So she
collected some rainwater 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?

11. Prepare a list of objects around you that are electroplated.

12. The process that you saw in Activity 11.7 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 transfered to the thin
copper plate. Which electrode should be attached to the positive terminal
of the battery and why?

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 Extended Learning — Activities and Projects

1. Test the conduction of electricity through various fruits and

vegetables. Display your result in a tabular form.

2. Repeat Activity 11.7 with a zinc plate in place of the copper plate
connected to the negative terminal of the battery. Now replace zinc
plate with some other metallic object and again repeat the activity.
Which metal gets deposited over which other metal? Discuss your
findings with your friends.

3. Find out if there is a commercial electroplating unit in your town.

What objects are electroplated there and for what purpose? (The
process of electroplating in a commercial unit is much more complex
than what we did in Activity 11.7). Find out how they dispose off the
chemicals they discard.
4. Imagine that you are an ‘entrepreneur’ and have been provided a
loan by a bank to set up a small electroplating unit. What object
would you like to electroplate and for what purpose? (Look up the
meaning of ‘entrepreneur’ in a dictionary).

5. Find out the health concerns associated with chromium

electroplating. How are people trying to resolve them?
6. You can make a fun pen for yourself. Take a conducting metal plate
and spread a moist paste of potassium iodide and starch. Connect
the plate to a battery as shown in Fig. 11.11. Now using the free
end of the wire, write a few letters on the paste. What do you see?

Fig. 11.11

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 For more information on this topic visit:
l electronics.howstuffworks.com/led.htm

Did You Know?

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are available in

many colours such as red, green, yellow, blue,
white and are increasingly being used for many
applications, for example in traffic signal lights.
LEDs are increasingly being used for lighting. A
cluster of white LEDs grouped together forms a
LED light source. LED light sources consume
less electricity and have longer lifetime than
light bulbs and fluorescent tubes. Hence these
are gradually becoming the preferred lighting
source.

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