ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITIES, ETC. 



137 



DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS WITH THE ORGANIC ACIDS. 



It does not seem necessary or desirable, in discussing the results with the organic 

 acids, to tabulate these results as was done in the case of the salts. The anions of 

 these acids are not related as the cations of the salts were, and any relations must 

 be of a more limited nature. Certain relations will, however, be pointed out, and 

 they can easily be verified from the data for the various acids. 



Take, first, the conductivities of the various acids: The presence of chlorine in 

 acetic acid increases enormously its dissociation. Thus, at volume 32 and the 

 conductivity of acetic acid is 5.33; of dichloracetic acid 166, and of trichloracetic 

 acid 208.7. The conductivity of cyanacetic acid under the same conditions is 68.7, 

 and of phenylacetic acid 9. Acetic acid is slightly stronger than propionic, which 

 at volume 32 and has a conductivity of 4.63. This illustrates the general prin- 

 ciple that in a homologous series of organic acids the lower members of the series 

 are the stronger, at the same temperature and volume a-brompropionic acid having a 

 conductivity of 38, /3-iodopropionic acid of 12.57, while /S-acetylpropionic acid has a 

 conductivity of 5.85. Butyric acid at the same volume and temperature has the 

 value 5.0; a-brombutyric 42.75, showing the marked increase in the strength due 

 to the presence of bromine. 



Isobutyric acid at volume 32 and has the value 4.91, while hydroxyisobutyric 

 has the conductivity 12.11, showing the increase in the strength due to the presence 

 of the hydroxyl group. The conductivities of butyric and isobutyric acids are very 

 nearly the same, which is characteristic of a large number of isomeric compounds. 

 Isovaleric acid has the conductivity 5.36. 



Turning to the dibasic acids of the oxalic series, we come first to oxalic acid. This 

 was decomposed by the platinum plates, and was therefore not studied. Malonic acid 



