Question

Why should one never touch an electrical appliance with a wet hand?
A. Wet body is a bad conductor
B. Wet body is a good conductor
C. Both of these
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Pure water is a bad conductor of electricity because it does not contain ionized salts. But the water we have at our homes is not pure. Hence it has ions and conducts electricity.

Complete step by step answer:
We are given to find the reason why one should never touch electrical appliances with wet hands.As we know the molecular formula of water is ${H_2}O$ and when ionized it produces Hydrogen and oxygen ions i.e. ${H^ + },{O^{2 - }}$.Pure water does not contain any salts to conduct electricity, so it is a bad conductor of electricity. But the water we use at home is tap water which travels through many metallic pipes and many salts are mixed with this water and combine with hydrogen and oxygen ions. Tap water acts as an electrolyte. So when the human body parts are wet, the resistance our body offers will be less. So when we touch any electrical appliance with our wet hands, current passes through the less resistance of our body and we feel a shock. Wet body is thus a good conductor of electricity.
The answer is Option B. A person should not touch an electrical appliance with wet hands, because wet bodies act as good conductors of electricity and we feel an instant shock.

Note: Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity whereas tap water which we use at home is a good conductor of electricity. So all types of water are not good conductors of electricity. Some are good conductors and some are bad conductors, so do not get confused with this.