Chapter 10 - Electrochemical Cells Flashcards
in a redox reaction, to what substance and from what substance are electrons transferred?
transferred from substance that’s oxidized to substance that’s reduced
energy involved in a redox reaction and what form it is in?
releases small quantity of thermal energy
how do you harness the energy in a redox reaction and why?
separate oxidizing agent from reducing agent in a way that forces electron transfer through a wire, when the electrons flow through a wire, an electric current is produced so thermal energy is not released into environment and we can harness it
define half-cell
an electrode and electrolyte that form half of a complete cell
what is the electrolyte in the half-cell
solution of ions
define electrode
a solid electrical conductor
define cell
a system in which two connected electrodes are in contact with an electrolyte
how is a current produced using the galvanic cell
ions on the right in the solution will attract electrons from the electrode on the left, resulting in a flow of current from the electrode to the ions in the solution
what happens to the current in a galvanic cell that causes a problem?
current flows for an instant and stops
why does the current stop after an instant in a galvanic cell with the left cell?
oxidation of electrode on left results in an increase in concentration of ions in that half-cell, resulting in a build-up of positive charge
why does the current stop after an instant in a galvanic cell with the right cell?
reduction of ions in the solution on the right reduces concentration of ions on the right, resulting in a build up of negative charge due to the other different ions that remain
why does the current stop after an instant in a galvanic cell in general
charges build up in both half-cells preventing electron transfer from occurring
how is the problem of current stopping in a galvanic cell fixed?
connecting the solutions so ions can flow between them to keep the net charge in each half-cell at 0
define salt bridge
a tube that contains a non-reactive electrolyte solution and connects the two half-cells in a galvanic cell
why do we plug the ends of the salt bridge with cotton plugs?
to prevent solution from falling out of tube but they are porous enough to permit some fluid and ions to flow in and out of the tube
when looking for a non-reactive electrolyte for the galvanic cell, what do we look for?
one that is soluble and won’t react with electrodes or the electrolyte solutions
what happens to the non-reactive electrolyte in the salt bridge as it progresses, if we use sodium sulfate
negatively charged sulfate ions (SO4^2-) spontaneously migrate to the left half-cell to offset build up of ions, positively charged sodium ions (Na+) spontaneously migrate into right half-cell to offset loss of ions, so the solutions in both remain electrically neutral
define galvanic cell
an arrangement of two connected half-cells that spontaneously produces electric current
define anode and what side of the galvanic cell is it on?
electrode where oxidation occurs, left side
define cathode and what side of the galvanic cell is it on?
the electrode where reduction occurs, right side
explain how a galvanic cell works with anodes and cathodes
electrons flow spontaneously from the anode to the cathode from an external path (the conducting wire), in the salt bridge, anions (negatively charged ions) flow to the anode and cations (positively charged ions) flow to the cathode
why is the zinc electrode on the left decreasing in mass in the galvanic cell?
oxidation of the zinc metal is occurring at the zinc anode Zn (s) - Zn^2+ (aq) + 2e-
mass of copper electrode in galvanic cell?
increases
why does the copper electrode increase in mass in galvanic cell and what does this cause?
copper is deposited on it, blue colour of the solution decreases in intensity, copper (ii) ions in solution are reduced to copper metal at the copper cathode Cu^2+ (aq) + 2e- - Cu(s)
charges of each electrode in the galvanic cell
zinc on left has negative charge and copper on right has positive charge
why does the zinc electrode have a negative charge and the copper electrode has a positive charge?
electrons move from zinc electrode to copper electrode
why do the electrons flow to the copper ions rather than the zinc ions?
they both act as oxidizing agents and are capable of accepting electrons, copper is a stronger oxidizing agent than zinc
difference between metal electrode vs battery
metal electrode and metal ions, metal electrode participates in the cell reaction. in a battery, carbon (graphite) is often used as an electrode as an inert solid conductor
how are inert electrodes useful?
provides a surface on which the oxidation and reduction reactions can occur, but it does not participate, reaction involves entities in the solution, not the electrode; acts as inert solid conductor, a place to connect the wire
where do reactions take place in galvanic cells
in aqueous solutions