What do you observe now? Does the bulb glow in all cases?

Question

• Take solutions of hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid. 
• Fix two nails on a cork and place the cork in a 100 ml beaker. 
• Connect the nails to the two terminals of a 6V battery through a bulb and a switch as shown in Figure. 
• Now pour some dilute HCl in the beaker and switch on the current.
• Repeat the activity with dilute sulphuric acid, glucose and alcohol solutions. What do you observe now?
• Does the bulb glow in all cases?

Answer 1

The bulb glows when the solution in the beaker is hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid as they ionise into H⁺ ions thus facilitating the flow of current. Both hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid readily ionise to H⁺ , Cl^- and 2H⁺and SO^4- in solution and thus conduct electricity letting the bulb glow. Whereas glucose and alcohol do not ionise and hence the bulb doesn’t glow.