Question

Tungsten is a bad conductor of electricity
A.True
B.False

Answer 1

Hint: Conductors allow the passage of electricity whereas bad conductors don’t allow the passage of electricity. Bad conductors are also called insulators. But Tungsten is considered to be an exceptional case. Tungsten belongs to the category of metals.

Complete step by step answer:
First let us look at some of the properties of Tungsten.
We know that Tungsten (W) is an element with atomic number 76.
It is a transition metal which is found in the middle of the periodic table.
We know that metals are good conductors of electricity. This is because metals have free electrons which can carry the electricity. The movement of electrons is the reason for good conductivity property shown by metals.
Now, let us look at the property of Tungsten. As it is a metal, it should be a conductor of electricity. But tungsten is an exception in which it does not conduct electricity at normal conditions.
We also know that on going down the group, the size increases and Tungsten is the heaviest metal of group 6.
Ongoing down the group, the melting point of the metal increases due to increase in size. The strength of Vander Waals forces increases on going down because of more electrons. Thus, more energy is required. This is the reason for the high melting point.
Thus, we can say that Tungsten has a high melting point, and it has high resistivity towards heat.
Tungsten is a poor conductor of electricity even though it is a metal. But at high temperatures, it will conduct electricity.
As discussed above, it has a high melting point. Therefore, high temperature doesn’t have any bad effect on Tungsten.
Therefore, we can say that the given statement is true.
Hence, the correct answer is Option (A)


Note:
Due to above mentioned properties shown by Tungsten, it is used as the filament of the bulb. Even though it is a poor conductor of electricity, it is used in a bulb due to high melting point and high resistivity towards heat.