Summary
Highlights
The first part of the lab is to identify where oxidation and reduction occur, the charge of each electrode, and the flow of electrons. The red lead from the battery is attached to one electrode, and the black lead to the other, establishing the cathode and anode for the experiment. This setup is critical as electrolytic cells are non-spontaneous and require external energy.
The video introduces an electrolytic cell lab with three main objectives: identifying all parts of the electrolytic cell including charges and electron flow, determining the experimental mass of copper collected and the molarity of the solution, and assessing the accuracy of results using percent error calculations.
The components include a DC power source, red and black leads connected to the cathode and anode respectively, a voltmeter, an ammeter, a timer, and graphite electrodes. These are placed into a 250 ml beaker containing 100 ml of copper(II) chloride solution, which has a bluish-green color due to copper(II) ions.
The power source is turned on, and the amperage is maintained at approximately one amp. The total time and average amperage are used to calculate total coulombs. With Faraday's constant, moles of electrons can be determined, which, combined with the half-reaction, will yield the moles and eventually the mass of copper collected at one of the electrodes.
After running the experiment, the copper collected at one of the electrodes undergoes hot filtration and drying to determine its experimental mass. Assuming the reaction goes to completion, the molarity of the solution can also be calculated, given the initial 100 ml volume.