Question

I have a general question. This relates to Chemistry 121, of the "Introductory Chemistry" book by authors Julia Burdge and Michelle Driessan (2nd Edition) Ch.9.

Chapter 9 is on physical properties of solutions. I am having a hard time understanding how to distinguish wether the compound given is a solid, a liquid, a gas or is aqueous.

I understand that an electrolyte is an ion that dissolves in water. So, if the compound given is ionic/polar, we can assume it is an electrolyte that requires water, and would therefore be labeled aqueous?

Can anyone clarify how to determine what state a compound is in when working with solutions? Thank you!

Answer 1

If the compound is not a part of the solution then it will be in it's natural state. Like, NaCl will be solid, CO2 will be gas, Ethyl alcohol will be a liquid. But if the compound is a part of the solution, be it electrolyte or nonelectrolyte, if it is dissolved then it will be written as aqueous. You can write ions in case of electrolyte. Keep in mind that, an electrolyte dissociates into ions only in the aqueous solution. So, all ions will be aqueous.

Dissolved gases are also written as aqueous.

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