RP8 - Measuring the EMF of an Electrochemical Cell

Question 1

Describe the method for measuring the EMF of an electrochemical cell

Answer 1

Clean the zinc and copper foils with emery before use.

Degrease the metal using some cotton wool and propanone.

Place the copper strip into a 100 cm3 beaker with about 50 cm3 of 1 mol dm–3 CuSO4 solution.

Place the zinc strip into a 100 cm3 beaker with about 50 cm3 of 1 mol dm–3 ZnSO4 solution.

Use a strip of filter paper soaked in saturated potassium nitrate solution for the salt bridge

Connect the Cu(s)|Cu2+ (aq) and Zn(s)|Zn2+ (aq) half-cells by connecting the metals using the crocodile clips
and leads provided to the voltmeter