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Chapter 18: Problem 8

Define the following terms: electromotive force and standard reduction potential.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Electromotive force is the maximum voltage a generator or battery can provide when no current is flowing, reflecting the work done per unit charge by the source. Standard reduction potential is a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to gain electrons, indicating how strongly an element or compound attracts electrons or tends to be oxidized.

Step by step solution

01

Define electromotive force

Electromotive force (emf) is the maximum potential difference (voltage) that a battery or generator can provide to a circuit when no current is flowing. It's expressed in volts. It represents the work done per unit charge by the source of electrical energy.
02

Define standard reduction potential

The standard reduction potential is a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to be reduced, that is, to gain electrons. It's generally expressed in volts and is defined at 25 degrees Celsius, at 1 atm pressure, and with each solute at 1M concentration. It represents how strongly an element or compound attracts electrons. For example, high positive reduction potentials indicate a strong affinity for electrons (a good oxidizing agent), while negative potentials indicate a tendency to lose electrons and be oxidized (a good reducing agent).

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A concentration cell is constructed having Cu electrodes in two CuSO \(_{4}\) solutions \(\mathrm{A}\) and \(\mathrm{B}\). At \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\), the osmotic pressures of the two solutions are 48.9 atm and 4.89 atm, respectively. Calculate the \(E_{\text {cell }},\) assuming no ion-pair formation.

The zinc-air battery shows much promise for electric cars because it is lightweight and rechargeable: The net transformation is \(\mathrm{Zn}(s)+\frac{1}{2} \mathrm{O}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{ZnO}(s)\) (a) Write the half-reactions at the zinc-air electrodes and calculate the standard emf of the battery at \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). (b) Calculate the emf under actual operating conditions when the partial pressure of oxygen is 0.21 atm. (c) What is the energy density (measured as the energy in kilojoules that can be obtained from \(1 \mathrm{~kg}\) of the metal) of the zinc electrode? (d) If a current of \(2.1 \times 10^{5} \mathrm{~A}\) is to be drawn from a zinc-air battery system, what volume of air (in liters) would need to be supplied to the battery every second? Assume that the temperature is \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) and the partial pressure of oxygen is 0.21 atm.

The passage of a current of 0.750 A for \(25.0 \mathrm{~min}\) deposited \(0.369 \mathrm{~g}\) of copper from a \(\mathrm{CuSO}_{4}\) solution. From this information, calculate the molar mass of copper.

Write the Nernst equation for the following processes at some temperature \(T\). (a) \(\mathrm{Mg}(s)+\mathrm{Sn}^{2+}(a q) \longrightarrow \mathrm{Mg}^{2+}(a q)+\operatorname{Sn}(s)\) (b) \(2 \mathrm{Cr}(s)+3 \mathrm{~Pb}^{2+}(a q) \longrightarrow 2 \mathrm{Cr}^{3+}(a q)+3 \mathrm{~Pb}(s)\)

What is the function of a salt bridge? What kind of electrolyte should be used in a salt bridge?
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