Electrochemistry Lab Report

Experiment 5- Electrochemistry: Voltaic cells, Electrolysis and Faraday's law.

Name: Christian Miranda
Student#: 169019008
Date conducted: Friday March 10th
Date submitted: Thursday March 16th
Lab section: L16 2:30-5:20
Lab IA: Jaymie

Abstract:
In this experiment, the objective was to set up a voltaic cell and use it to carry out two electrolysis processes to determine the equivalent weights of zinc and copper. The procedure involved using zinc strips, copper strips, zinc wire, copper wire, a zinc plating solution, a CuSO4 solution, an ammeter, wooden blocks, alligator clamps, and beakers. However, the main findings of the experiment showed that the equivalent weights for both copper and zinc were not as expected. Copper had over 300

In this experiment no deviations were made.

Wilfrid Laurier University Chemistry Department. Winter 2023. Electrochemistry. Pages 79-82 in Chemistry 111 Lab Manual. Wilfrid Laurier University, ON, Canada.

Observation Results:

Table 1: Qualitative Observations of all reactants and products in experiment

Reactant/ Product
Before
During

No file sharing websites were used or other students' assignments. I did not share this work with anyone else. I understand the academic integrity policies at laurier and its consequences for violating them.

Application Questions:
Valence refers to the number of electrons an atom can donate or accept when forming chemical bonds , Equivalent weight on the other hand refers to is a measure of ions that can combine with a fixed weight of a substance in a chemical reaction. So valence is a measure of forming chemical bonds while equivalent weight is how much an ion can replace another in a chemical reaction.

In the experiment many chemical reactions took place, in the voltaic cell there was a spontaneous reaction between Zinc and copper (Oxidation and reduction).
In the zinc electrolytic cell it was a oxidation reaction losing electrons in the equation
Zn(s)--> Zn(aq)^2+2e^-
For copper in it;s cathode there is the reduction reaction
Cu(aq)^2+ + 2e^--> Cu(s)
The flow of electrons will move from zinc ( anode electrolytic cell) to copper (cathode electrolytic cell). The overall reaction looks like