Question

what happens to the conductivity of a substance if you dilute a solution with water? Is the variation in concentration with conductivity a linear relationship? Explain.

Answer 1

Whenever a solution is diluted by adding the solvent (water) into it, the number of ions that are available per unit volume reduces, resulting in a reduction of the conductivity. Therefore, molar conductance increases with dilution ( decrease in concentration). Thus, a decrease in the number of ions available per unit volume will result in the reduction of the conductivity.

No, the variation in concentration with conductivity is not a linear relationship. It is because the conductivity increases linearly with respect to the square root of concentration instead of in direct proportion.