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Electrochemical cells can be used to measure ionic concentrations. A cell is set

ID: 500682 • Letter: E

Question

Electrochemical cells can be used to measure ionic concentrations. A cell is set up with a pair of Zn electrodes, each immersed in ZnSO4 solution. One solution is created to be exactly 0.500 M, and the potential on its electrode is measured to be 0.075 V higher than the other electrode. What is the concentration of the other solution? Enter your answer in M. Electrochemical cells can be used to measure ionic concentrations. A cell is set up with a pair of Zn electrodes, each immersed in ZnSO4 solution. One solution is created to be exactly 0.500 M, and the potential on its electrode is measured to be 0.075 V higher than the other electrode. What is the concentration of the other solution? Enter your answer in M.

Explanation / Answer

That means that the Zn electrode in the 0.500M ZnSO4 compartment is the cathode. We want to know the ZnSO4 concentration in the anode compartment. Based on:
E = -(RT/nF) ln [Zn++]a/[Zn++]c, we have:
[Zn++]a = [Zn++]c*exp(-nEF/RT)
= 0.500*exp(-2*0.075*96485/(8.314*298)
= 0.00145 M

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