Question

The passage of an electric current through a solution causes ______ effect.
A. Physical
B. Chemical
C. Psychological
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint:When a solution is subjected to electric current the solution decomposes into its positive and negative ions. The passage of an electric current through a conducting solution causes chemical reactions. This will result in the formation of bubbles of gas to be formed on the electrodes.

Complete step by step solution:
The chemical effects of electric current were first discovered by a British Chemist, William Nicholson. He had shown that when electrodes are immersed in water and current was made to pass through it bubbles of oxygen and hydrogen were formed on the electrode. It can be seen that Oxygen bubbles are formed on the electrode connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the Hydrogen molecules are connected to the negative terminal.
This effect is known as the chemical effect of electric current. Sometimes there will also be a change in the color of the solution. It totally depends on what solution and electrodes are used.
Suppose if we pass an electric current through water, their constituents break into positive and negative ions. These ions will allow the electric current to pass through them. The water obtained from pump wells and ponds contain several dissolved salts which makes it impure. This in turn makes this water a good conductor of electricity. Whereas distilled water does not contain any dissolved salts this makes it a bad conductor of electricity.
Hence option B is correct.

Note:
Some different forms of chemical effects of electric current are as follows,
Gas bubbles forming in the electrodes
Metals are deposited on electrodes
Change of color of the solution.
There are some applications of the chemical effects of electric current. One of the applications is electroplating. In this process, a layer of metal will be deposited over another material with the assistance of electricity. Based on the metal the right electrodes and electrolytes are chosen. Electroplating is used in imitation jewellery which is made by applying a layer of gold or silver.