Is there any way I can differentiate electrical conductivity?

[girlbythewindow]

...Kay, so I was doing [or trying to do] my homework, and it's pretty basic, actually.
We're given a table comprising substances like "vegetable oil", "gatorade", "pencil lead", etc; and asked to predict its electrical conductivity.

I tried Googling some of it, but nothing really relevant actually came up.

I get the part that electrolytes are mainly solutions of acids, salts, and bases...but my question is: for substances like vegetable oil, how can you tell its electrical conductivity?

...Also, if I have a salt in solid form, will it conduct electricity as well?

 

[Astronuc]

It depends on the types of bonds in the material - metal, ionic, covalent. Metals have highly mobile electrons, ionic solids less so, and covalent bonds much less.

What happens in an electrolyte?

What types of bonds are found in vegetable oil?

 

[Blueshift5]

Yes, there are several ways to differentiate electrical conductivity in substances. One way is to use an electrical conductivity meter, which measures the ability of a substance to conduct electricity. Another way is to use the concept of ions. Substances that contain ions, such as electrolytes, tend to have higher electrical conductivity compared to substances that do not contain ions. Vegetable oil, for example, does not contain ions and therefore has a low electrical conductivity. On the other hand, substances like gatorade, which contains electrolytes, have a higher electrical conductivity.

In terms of solid salts, they can also conduct electricity, but their conductivity may be lower compared to when they are dissolved in water. This is because in solid form, the ions are not free to move and therefore cannot carry an electrical charge as effectively. However, they can still conduct electricity to some extent.

It's important to note that there are other factors that can affect electrical conductivity, such as temperature and concentration. So, it's important to consider these factors when predicting the electrical conductivity of a substance.