# Conductivity of Water, Conductivity of Water Units, Value, Definition of Conductivity (For CBSE, ICSE, IAS, NET, NRA 2022)

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# Conductivity of Water

• It is a measure of the capability of water to pass electrical flow.
• This ability is directly dependent on the concentration of conductive ions present in the water.
• So, conductive ions are originated due to inorganic materials such as chlorides, alkalis, carbonate and sulfides compounds and dissolved salts.
• The degree to which water conducts or transmits, electricity or heat or sound in it is called conductivity of water.
• It is denoted by s or k.

## Conductivity of Water Units

• The conductivity of water can be measured using multiple units.
• Some of them are:
• SI units Siemens per meter (S/m)
• U. S units Millimho per centimeter

## Value

The Value of Conductivity of Water for Various Types of Water is Given below

 Types of water Conductivity Value Pure distilled and deionized water 0.05 S/cm Sea water 50 mS/cm Drinking water 200 to 800 S/cm Rain or snow water 2 to 100 S/cm

## Definition of Conductivity

• Conductivity is the measure of the capability of water to pass the flow of electric current.
• This ability of conductance is said to be directly proportional to the concentration of the ions present in the water.
• This Compounds which dissolve into the ions are known as the electrolytes.
• If the more the number of ions present in the electrolyte, then the higher is the conductivity of water.
• Similarly, fewer the number of ions present in water, then less conductive is the conductivity of water.
• De-ionized or distilled water can also act as an insulator because of the very low value of conductivity.
• Seawater is said to possess a very high value of conductivity.
• Pure water is a bad conductor of electricity. Normal water has impurities present in the form of ions called minerals etc.
• These ions are known to be responsible for the conduction of electric current in the water.
• So, the electrical current in water is transported by the ions present in them, and the conductivity is said to increase with the increase in the concentration of ions in them.

## Conductivity of Salt Water

• The salt water is a good conductor of electricity.
• Its conductivity is greater than normal water.
• This is because salt molecules are made of sodium ions and chlorine ions (NaCl) .

## How Conductivity is Achieved?

• Until now we have learnt that conductivity is purely the result of conductive ions present in the water. But how it conducts is the question.
• It can be explained by the following steps:
• The ions present in the water conduct electricity because of the positive as well as negative charges present in them.
• When the electrolytes tend to dissolve in the water, they get split into action or positively charged and anions or negatively charged particles.
• As dissolved substances tend to split in the water, the concentrations of positive and the negative charge remain the same.
• This shows that, though the conductivity of the water increases with the addition of ions, it tends to remain electrically neutral.

## Specific Conductance

• Specific conductance is the measurement of conductivity that is made at a temperature of . it is called the standardized method of achieving the conductivity.
• So, As the temperature of the water affects the conductivity reading, reporting the conductivity at about allows the data to be compared easily.
• The Specific conductance is basically reported in S/cm at about a temperature measuring .
• If the measurement of conductivity is accomplished at a temperature of , then it can be called as the specific conductance.
• If the measurement is done at different temperatures and later corrected to the temperature of , then it is called as the temperature coefficient.

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