Factors Affecting Degree of Ionization

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Factors Affecting Degree of Ionization

Published by: Nuru

Published date: 26 Jun 2021

Factors Affecting Degree of Ionization in Grade 12

Factors Affecting Degree of Ionization

Factors Affecting Degree of Ionization is temperature, concentration, and the type of electrolytes like strong electrolyte or weak electrolyte.

Ionization is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecule is called an ion.

The factors of the degree of ionization are:-

  • Nature of electrolytes
  • Nature of solvent
  • Dilution
  • Temperature
  • Common ion effect

The explanations of the factors affecting the degree of ionization are explained below:-

  1. Nature of electrolytes- The degree of ionization depends upon the nature of electrolytes. Strong electrolytes have a high degree of ionization while weak electrolytes have a low degree of ionization
  2. Nature of solvent- The ionizing power of the solvent depends upon its dielectric constant. The greater the value of the dielectric constant greater will ionizing power of solvent and the greater will be the degree of ionization.
  3. Dilution- The degree of ionization increases with an increase in dilution. At infinite dilution, even the weak electrolytes are almost completely ionized.
  4. Temperature- The degree of ionization increases with the increase in temperature.
  5. Common ion effect- The suppression or degree of ionization of weak electrolyte by the addition of strong electrolyte having common ion is called common ion effect. Due to the common ion effect, the degree of ionization of weak electrolytes is decreased or suppressed.