Children explore their environment

W4 Electric conductivity of salt water and sugar water

What you need
 9-Volt battery, 2 insulated copper wires with 4 crodile clips,  Light-emitting Diode(LED), blister, small pencil which is sharpened on both sides, salt water, sugar water.
Experiment (left photo): Test water samples using the battery and the LED
* Connect the negative terminal of your 9-Volt battery with the short pin of the LED.
* The positive terminal of the battery is connected with one end of the pencil.
* Dip the other end of the pencil and the long pin of the LED into the blister with 1 ml of sea water.
Observations (photos): The LED shows light because salt water conducts electricity well.
* Right: In sea water gas bubbles can be seen at the pin and at the pencil. * A smell of chlorine at the pencil.
Does the LED show light if you replacee the salt water by sugar water?
Explanation: You have done your first chemical experiment:
Electric current transformed salt into chlorione. This is called electrolysis.