CHEM 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Galvanic Cell, Redox, Electrochemistry

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 122
• Professor: Garry Mund

Document Summary

Chem 122: general chemistry ii - lecture 18: electrochemistry (11. 1 and 11. 2) Electrochemistry: is the study of the interchange of chemical and electrical energy. Zn(s) + cu2+ (aq) zn2+ (aq) + cu(s) This is a spontaneous reaction in the forward direction; this implies that zn is a better ra than cu and cu2+ is a better oa than zn2+. If we put zn metal into a solution of cu2+, cu metal would be produced but no useful work would be extracted. To obtain useful work, we would set up a galvanic cell where you separate the oa from the ra; this forces the oa to pull" electrons from the ra through a conducting wire. The pull on the electrons is called the cell potential (e cell) and is generally given in volts(v). A volt is defined as one joule of work per coulomb(c) of charge.