A galvanic cell is constructed by combining a zinc electrode submerged in a solution…

CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · A Level · Chemistry · Electrode potentials · Electrode potentials

Problem

A galvanic cell is constructed by combining a zinc electrode submerged in a

1.0\,\text{M}

solution of

\text{Zn}^{2+}

ions with a silver electrode submerged in a

1.0\,\text{M}

solution of

\text{Ag}^{+}

ions. A salt bridge connects the two half-cells, and an external circuit allows electrons to flow between the electrodes. Standard reduction potentials (at

25\,^{\circ}\text{C}

\text{Ag}^{+}(aq) + e^{-} \rightarrow \text{Ag}(s)

E^{\circ}=+0.80\,\text{V}

\text{Zn}^{2+}(aq) + 2e^{-} \rightarrow \text{Zn}(s)

E^{\circ}=-0.76\,\text{V}

(1) Determine which metal is oxidized and which is reduced when the cell operates spontaneously. (2) Write the oxidation half-reaction and the reduction half-reaction that occur in the cell, including the physical states of all species. (3) Identify the oxidizing agent and the reducing agent for the overall cell reaction and justify your choices using the information in the table of standard reduction potentials.

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