alleryStart learning →Most covalent compounds are poor conductors of electricity because they are:
AElectrically neutral
BElectrically charged
CAlways metallic solids
DAlways liquid at 25 C
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Electrically neutral
1. Conduction needs mobile charge.
2. Whereas ionic compounds are good conductors of electricity when dissolved in water, most covalent compounds are insoluble in water.
3. Since they are electrically neutral, they are poor conductors of electricity in any state.
4. Neutral molecules supply no free ions to carry a current.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 7 'Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry', sections 7.1-7.6_
Keep practising Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry
Browse all Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry questions for AP Chemistry, or explore more Chemistry topics.
Related questions
Complete the ionisation ruleMatch each term to its meaningWork the bonding numbersTrue or false: bondingIonic or covalent?An ionic formula such as Al2O3 does not tell you:For p-block elements forming cations, electrons are removed from which orbitals first?In a chlorine molecule, each chlorine atom ends up surrounded by how many electrons in tot