Fuel and Chemical cells (Paper 1)

Question 1

What is a Chemical cell?

Answer 1

A chemical cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy by producing a voltage across the cell until one of the reactants has been used up. There will be a bigger voltage the further that they are from eachother in the reactivity series.

Question 2

What is a Fuel cell?

Answer 2

A fuel cell is a type of chemical cell that’s supplied with a fuel and oxygen and uses energy from the reaction between them to produce electrical energy.

Question 3

What is the fuel in a Hyrdogen-Oxygen fuel cell?

Answer 3

The Hydrogen

Question 4

What do Hydrogen-Oxygen fuel cells produce?

Answer 4

Water vapour

Question 5

What are the Advantages of Hydrogen-Oxygen fuel cells?

Answer 5

+No pollutants are produced, only water and heat
+Less stages and no moving parts so less places for energy to be lost so more efficient
+Electricity is generated directly from the reaction so no turbines or generators needed

Question 6

What are the Disadvantages of Hydrogen-Oxygen fuel cells?

Answer 6

-Hydrogen is a gas so it takes up loads more space to store than liquid fuels like petrol
-It’s very explosive so it’s difficult to store safely
-Hydrogen fuel is often made from either hydrocarbons or electrolysis of water which uses electricity