Honors Chemistry Practice Exam

When a substance dissolves in water, whether the resulting solution conducts electricity depends on whether ions are produced. If the solute dissolves and nothing ionizes, leaving intact neutral molecules in solution, there are no mobile charges to carry electricity, so the solution does not conduct. Substances like sugars dissolve in water but stay as whole molecules, giving a nonelectrolyte solution. In contrast, when a solute forms ions in solution—like salts, acids, or bases—the solution conducts electricity and is an electrolyte. A saturated solution describes how much solute can dissolve, not the presence of ions, and a colloid is a different type of mixture, not a true dissolved species. Therefore, the described substance is a nonelectrolyte.