Electrolysis Flashcards
What is a redox reaction?
It is a reaction in which one substance is being oxidized and the other substance is being reduced.
What is electrolysis? And what is electrolyte?
Breakdown of chemical compounds using heat
Electrolyte is a substance that is able to conduct electricity. It is the solution in the beaker.
What are the charges for cathodes, anodes, cations, anions?
Cathodes are negative
Anodes are positive
Cations are negative
Anions are positive
Why do metals move to the cathodes electrode?
Because metals such as copper, zinc, etc are positively charged which means that they are attracted to the oppositely charged ions which are negative ions and so they will be attracted to the cathodes.
Why do non-metals move to the anodes electrode?
Because non metals are negative and so they will be attracted to the oppositely charged ions which is why they move to the anode electrode because anodes are positive.
What compounds are used for electrolysis?
Ionic compounds
What are the requirements for electrolytes?
It should be molten or dissolved so that the ions can move around freely to carry the current
It should be an ionic compound
What happens after the ions move to the electrodes? Explain what would happen to metals and non metals
Ions start gaining or losing electrons depending on their charge, they’ll be able to change into their compound form.
Metals will be reduced into element form.
Non metals will be oxidized into diatomic form.
What are halides and what are the most common halides?
Halides are atoms with a negative charge.
Fluoride, iodide, chloride, bromide
Why are some metals extracted by using electrolysis?
Some metals are more reactive THAN CARBON. So they cannot be extracted by reduction with carbon,so they’re extracted by electrolysis.
Why are some metals extracted by using electrolysis?
Some metals are more reactive THAN CARBON. So they cannot be extracted by reduction with carbon,so they’re extracted by electrolysis.
Why is aluminum mixed with cryolite?
Because Al has a very high melting point which means it will be very expensive to melt it, and so it mixed with cryolite
Explain the difference in the processes in electrolysis and in a chemical cell-
electrolysis uses electricity to produce a chemical reaction whilst chemical cell uses the chemical reaction to produce electricity.
Do the positive ions need to lose or gain electrons to form an atom?
They need to gain electrons
Do the negative ions need to lose or gain electrons to form an atom
They need to lose electrons to form an atom
