Post

Laboratory
Report
Experiment # 2: Potential of a Galvanic
Cell
Reporter: Cabangal, Erwin Cayl P. Instructor: Engr. James Colades
Section: 1-ChE B Date Performed: April 20, 2016
Group No: 2 Date Submitted: April 27, 2016

Experiment # 2: Potential of a Galvanic Cell

INTRODUCTION
Certain solids can conduct electricity because of the free flow of electrons in their structure.
Under an applied electric potential, electrons flow in a given direction in a metal conductor. Electric
current consists of electrons freely moving in a metal conductor under an applied electric potential.
The metal conductor is called an electrical conductor or electrode. Solutions may or may not
conduct electricity. Solutions that conduct electricity are called electrolytes. Solutions that do not
have electrical property are nonelectrolytes. Solutions can conduct electricity if there are charged
particles or ions present.
In this experiment, the students will
create an electricity using a galvanic cell. A
galvanic cell (see Figure 1) is a device in which
chemical energy is changed to electrical energy.
A typical galvanic cell consists of two half-cells
that is connected by a wire and a salt bridge.
Each half-cell contains a metal electrode that is
in contact with a solution containing a salt of that
metal. One half-cell functions as the anode,
where the oxidation reaction takes place, while
the other functions as the cathode, where the
reduction reaction occurs.
Figure 1: Galvanic Cell Diagram
A cell's standard state potential is the potential of the cell under standard state conditions,
which is approximated with concentrations of 1 mole per liter and pressures of 1 atmosphere at
25oC. To calculate the standard cell potential for a reaction, first, write the oxidation and reduction
half-reactions for the cell. Then, look up the reduction potential, Eored, for the reduction half-
reaction in a table of reduction potentials. Third, Look up the reduction potential for the reverse
of the oxidation half-reaction and reverse the sign to obtain the oxidation potential. For the
oxidation half-reaction,
Eooxidation = - Eoreduction. (1)

Lastly, Add the potentials of the half-cells to get the overall standard cell potential.
Eocell = Eoreduction + Eooxidation (2)

In this experiment, the students will be exposed to many different electrodes. They should
study the electrodes that can be combined in various ways to form many different galvanic cells.
It aims the students to construct a galvanic cell and determine its cell potential. After the
experiment, the measured cell potentials will be compared to the accepted values.
METHODOLOGY
First, the materials needed for the experiment were prepared. These materials are digital
multimeter, filter paper, different metals, and different aqueous solutions in a 25 ml beaker. In
constructing a galvanic cell, a salt bridge and two half-cell electrodes should be present.
So the next step was the preparation of the salt bridge and the half-cell electrodes. The
salt bridge was prepared by dipping a 1 cm x 15 cm filter paper in a saturated KCl solution. The
filter paper with KCl solution was used as a bridge to form a connection between the two different
aqueous solutions. Each half-cell electrode was prepared by dipping a piece of metal to an
aqueous solution containing ions of the same metal. Thus, a piece of pure Lead in a 1.0-M solution
of Pb2+ ions constitutes a standard Lead | Lead-ion half-cell; a piece of Copper in a 1.0-M solution
of Cu2+ ions constitutes a standard Copper | Copper-ion half-cell, and so on. (see Figure 2)
Next, the digital multimeter was prepared.(see Figure 3) The multimeter was set to 20 V.
The black wire was connected to the COM port of the multimeter and the red wire was connected
to the VmA port. The other end of the red wire was connected to the metal electrode in one
half-cell and the other end of the black wire was connected in a different half-cell. The wire was
connected to the half- cell by clipping the alligator clips to the undipped or exposed portion of
the metals. Now that the wire was connected and the galvanic cell was fully constructed, (see
Figure 4) a reading will appear on the multimeter. The reading was recorded to the data sheet.
After the cell potential was obtained, the steps were repeated to different combinations of
electrodes and all the readings were also recorded to the data sheet.

Figure 2: Preparation of salt Figure 3: Preparation of Volt Figure 4: A complete galvanic

bridge and half-cell electrodes. Meter cell
DATA SHEET

Terminal Terminal Measured

Couple (M1/M1+) --- (M2/M2+)
(Anode) (Cathode) Potential / V
1. Al Al / Al3+ Pb / Pb2+ Pb 1.104 V
2. Pb Pb / Pb2+ Cu / Cu2+ Cu 0.41 V
3. Zn Zn / Zn2+ Pb / Pb2+ Pb 0.53 V
4. Zn Zn / Zn2+ Cu / Cu2+ Cu 1.09 V
5 Al Al / Al3+ Zn / Zn2+ Zn 0.61 V
6. Al Al / Al3+ Cu / Cu2+ Cu 1.60 V

TREATMENT OF RESULTS

Figure 5: An Example of the Cell Diagram Set Up

Below are the calculations to get the theoretical standard cell potential. This will be compared to
the measured cell potential written on the data sheet to get its percentage error.

1. Cell Diagram: Al l Al3+ ll Pb2+ l Pb 2. Cell Diagram: Pb l Pb2+ ll Cu2+ l Cu

Eo Eo
Cathode: Pb2+ + 2e- Pb -0.13V Cathode: Cu2+ + 2e- Cu +0.34 V
Anode: Al3+ + 3e- Al -1.66V Anode: Pb2+ + 2e- Pb -0.13 V
C x3 : 3Pb2+ + 6e- 3Pb -0.13V C: Cu2+ + 2e- Cu +0.34 V
A rev x2 : 2Al 2Al3+ + 6e- +1.66V A rev : Pb Pb2+ + 2e- +0.13 V
2+
Overall cell rxn: 3Pb + 2Al 3Pb + 2Al3+ 1.53V 2+
Overall cell rxn: Cu + Pb Pb2+ + Cu 0.47 V
3. Cell Diagram: Zn l Zn2+ ll Pb2+ l Pb 4. Cell Diagram: Zn l Zn2+ ll Cu2+ l Cu

Cathode: Pb2+ + 2e- Pb -0.13 V Cathode: Cu2+ + 2e- Cu +0.34 V

Anode: Zn2+ + 2e- Zn -0.76 V Anode: Zn2+ + 2e- Zn -0.76 V
C: Pb2+ + 2e- Pb -0.13V C: Cu2+ + 2e- Cu +0.34 V
A rev : Zn Zn2+ + 2e- +0.76V A rev : Zn Zn2+ + 2e- +0.76 V

Overall cell rxn: Pb2+ + Zn Pb + Zn2+ 0.63V 2+

Overall cell rxn: Cu + Zn Cu + Zn2+ 1.10V

Eo Eo

5. Cell Diagram: Al l Al3+ ll Zn2+ l Zn 6. Cell Diagram: Al l Al3+ ll Cu2+ l Cu

Eo Eo

Cathode: Zn2+ + 2e- Zn -0.76 V Cathode: Cu2+ + 2e- Cu +0.34 V

Anode: Al3+ + 3e- Al -1.66V Anode: Al3+ + 3e- Al -1.66 V
C x3 : 3Zn2+ + 6e- 3Zn -0.76V C x3: 3Cu2+ + 6e- 3Cu +0.34 V
A rev x2 : 2Al 2Al3+ + 6e- +1.66V A rev x2: 2Al 2Al3+ + 6e- +1.66 V
2+
Overall cell rxn: 3Zn + 2Al 3Zn + 2Al3+ 0.90 V 2+
Overall cell rxn: 3Cu + 2Al 3Cu + 2Al3+ 2.00 V

l
% Error = Theoretical Value Experimental Value l
x 100
Theoretical Value

l
1. % Error = 1.53 V 1.104 V l
x 100 = 27.84% (Al vs. Pb)
1.53V

l
2. % Error = 0.47 V 0.41 V l
x 100 = 6.00% (Pb vs. Cu)
0.47 V

l
3. % Error = 0.63 V 0.53 V l
x 100 = 10.00% (Zn vs. Pb)
0.63 V

l
4. % Error = 1.10 V 1.09 V l
x 100 = 1.00% (Zn vs. Cu)
1.10

l
5. % Error = 0.90 V 0.61 V l
x 100 = 32.22% (Al vs. Zn)
0.90 V
 l
6. % Error = 2.00 V 1.60 V l
x 100 = 20.00% (Al vs. Cu)
2.00 V

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
As said in the introduction, certain solids can conduct electricity because of the free flow
of electrons in their structure. Likewise, solutions can conduct electricity if there are charged
particles or ions present. The half-cells constructed in this experiment consist of a piece of metal
in contact with an aqueous solution containing ions of the same metal. The two-half cells were
connected by placing a wire between the pieces of metal and by adding a salt bridge between the
two solutions. Because of the connection, theres a flow of current through the circuit. The electric
current is generated because metal atoms in the more reducing metal convert to ions and leave
one electrode to enter the solution and ions of the less reducing metal accept electrons and plate
out on the other electrode. The electrons left behind when positive ions are formed at one
electrode pass through the external circuit and into the other electrode. There the electrons
combine with ions from the solution to form metal atoms. By measuring the direction of current
flow, and the voltage generated in the cell, you can determine which is the more reducing metal
(stronger reducing agent), and by how much.
The role of the salt bridge here is very important. In order for current to flow, there must
be a complete electric circuit. The wire is part of the circuit and the salt bridge completes the
circuit. If there is no salt bridge present, there will be no electric current produced and there will
be no reading. In this experiment, the salt bridge is a filter paper soaked with 1.0 M aqueous
Potassium Chloride, which is a salt solution. Salt solutions are electrolytes and they can conduct
electrical current by movement of positive and negative ions in the solution. The filter paper with
a KCl solution was used to provide a path for conduction of electricity.

Experimental Value Vs. Theoretical Value

Experimental Value Theoretical Value 2
2.5
2
2
1.53 1.6
1.5
1.104 1.091.1
1 0.9
0.63 0.61
0.53
0.410.47
0.5

0
Al vs. Pb Pb vs. Cu Zn vs. Pb Zn vs. Cu Al vs. Zn Al vs. Cu
Figure 4: A comparison between the experimental values and theoretical values
After the experiment, the experimental values were compared to the accepted values. The
graph above (Figure 4) shows how close the experimental values are from the theoretical values.
Zinc and Copper shows the least amount of percent error with only 1.00% . While Aluminum and
Lead, Aluminum and Zinc, and Aluminum and Copper have the highest percent error. Their
percent errors are 27.84%, 32.22%, and 20.00%. Factors that contributed to the differences
include contamination between solutions and metals, the inconsistency of the voltmeter,the room
temperature, the immersion of the salt bridge, and the quality of the electrodes. These factors will
be further discussed in the conclusion.
A negative potential reading in the multimeter indicates that the leads were in the wrong
terminal. The positive (red) lead is connected to a metal that has a more negative potential than
the metal connected to the negative (black) lead. To transform this into a positive voltage reading,
just interchange the leads to its opposite terminal. The red lead should be connected in the
positive terminal or in the cathode, and the black lead should be in the negative terminal or in the
anode. The meter reads the difference in potential between the positive lead and the negative
lead, so, when the meter reading is positive: Ecell = Ecathode Eanode
The relationship between electricity and chemical change are utilized in a number of
technological applications. A voltaic cell can be used as an instant source of electrical energy.
Some examples of electrochemical cells are dry cells and batteries. Batteries are used in many
day-to-day devices such as cellular phones, laptop computers, clocks, and radios. It is composed
of at least one electrochemical cell which is used for the storage and generation of electricity. It
stores energy in form of oxidizing and reducing agent and then releases energy electrically when
it is needed. Another example of a voltaic cell is a fuel cell. This cell produces electrical potential
as a result of chemical reactions taking place inside it. Fuel cells, like the H2-O2 fuel cell, provide
instant power sources for moon-bound spacecraft. They are environmentally cleaner and are
twice more efficient than gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, the experiment was a success. The students were able to construct various
galvanic cells and determine each of its cell potential. After the experiment, they were able to
compare their experimental values from the theoretical values. The results show that voltaic cell
between copper and zinc had very miniscule percent error. Aside from this, other electrodes
showed a slight difference in its percent error, except from Aluminum. The voltaic cell among
Aluminum and Lead, Aluminum and Copper, and Aluminum and Zinc show the highest percent
error. Their percent errors are 27.84%, 32.22%, and 20.00%. From these results, we can
conclude that the Aluminum (which is common and present in the three results with a high percent
error) that was used in the experiment was not that good.
There are a lot of possible factors that contributed to the difference between the
experimental and the actual values. One, there could have been cross contamination between
solutions and metals. Theres a possibility that the alligator clips, which is also a metal, was
soaked in the solution, resulting to contamination of the solution. Another factor is the
inconsistency of the voltmeter. Because the voltmeter showed a constantly fluctuating reading,
there was no clear moment in which the measurement could have been taken. Therefore, the
measurement for each cell varied with respect to when each reading was recorded. Third possible
reason is the room temperature. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory which is not
controlled. So the room temperature may vary. It is one of the reasons because the accepted
values was conducted in a controlled laboratory, where temperature is only at 25 oC, so it means
standard reduction potential is dependent on temperature at 25oC. Fourth is the salt bridge.
Theres a possibility that the salt bridge was not fully immersed, resulting to a poor e- flow. Lastly,
it is possible that the electrodes used were not good. If the electrodes that were used in the
experiment have crusts, it decreases flow between the solution and electrodes, thus affecting the
voltage reading.
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