Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity. What kind of conductor is it?

• A. Excellent conductor
• B. Poor conductor
• C. Non-conductor
• D. Good conductor

Answer: (B)

Pure water conducts electricity only weakly because it has very few ions to carry charge. Electrical conduction in liquids happens through charged particles, so the more ions present, the better the conductor. Distilled or pure water has almost no dissolved minerals, and while water does self-ionize a little into H+ and OH−, the amount is extremely small, giving only a tiny number of charge carriers. That’s why the conductivity is very low, making it a poor conductor. It’s not a true non-conductor, since there is some matter of ion movement enabling a small current. When impurities like salts are present, they dissociate into ions and greatly boost conductivity, which is why seawater conducts electricity much more readily. So the best description for pure water is that it’s a poor conductor.