Pre - Lab Discussion:

Figure 1. Diagram of electrochemical cell Drawn by Dr. Acio

1. Write the equation that describes the oxidation and reduction half reactions for the voltaic cell. Oxidation: Zn 2e- + Zn+2 Reduction: Cu+2 + 2e- Cu 2. Why do the electrons only travel in one direction in the voltaic cell? The electrons on the zinc atoms possess more chemical potential energy than those on the copper atoms. Electrons will naturally flow from the electrode with more chemical potential energy to one that has less. Thus the electrons will only travel in one direction. 3. Describe the purpose of the salt bridge in a voltaic cell. The purpose of a salt bridge is to keep the two solutions electrically neutral with ions, allowing the continuous flow of electrons between the half cells. The anions of the solution (e.g. Na2NO3) found in the salt bridge move to the anode half cell, while the remaining cations (such as the sodium ions) move to the cathode half cell. This functioning of the salt bridge allows for the continual movement of electrons and is responsible for the decreasing mass of the anode metal and the increasing mass of the cathode metal.

4. In which direction do the potassium ions in the salt bridge move? In which direction do the nitrate ions move? The positive potassium ions will be attracted toward the half-cell containing the copper electrode, as the atoms of the copper electrode gain electrons causing the charge of the cell to be more negative. The negative nitrate ions will be attracted toward the half-cell containing the zinc electrode, as the atoms of the zinc electrode are giving up their electrons causing the charge of the cell to be become more positive. 5. How are standard electrode potentials determined for the half-cells listed in the Standard Reduction Potential table? The standard electrode potentials are determined on the basis of the Hydrogen scale.The standard electrode potential of Hydrogen is arbitrarily fixed as zero. The values are found by setting the reduction potential of hydrogen to be zero. Then the voltages are found for cells that contain the given half-cell and the hydrogen electrode. As Ecell = Ecathode - Eanode with one of the two values being 0, the E cell calculated will either be the reduction potential or the oxidation potential. The type of reaction that occurs in the hydrogen cell can be easily determined if hydrogen gas forms (reduction) or not. 6. Why should care be taken when working with potassium nitrate? Potassium nitrate is a strong oxidizer and can react aggressively with a reducing agent. 7. An electric current of 1.0 ampere liberates 1.186 grams of copper over 1.0 hour. Prove that Faradays constant is 96500 coulombs. 1.0 amp = 1C/s 1.0 hour * 60min/hour * 60sec/min * 1 C/s = 3600 C 1.186g Cu * 1 mol/ 63.55g = 0.0187 moles of Cu 0.0187 moles of Cu * 2 moles of e-/1 mole of Cu = 0.0373 moles of e3600C / 0.033 moles of e- = 9.65 x 104

Title: The Effect of the Vant Hoff Factor of Specific Solutions on the Conductivity Authors: Ildoo Kim, Jenny Kim, Winston Ou, and Matthew Park Date: 08/02/12 Purpose: The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of increasing concentration of an ionic compound on conductivity. Conductivity was measured as concentration of the solution was gradually increased by the addition of concentrated drops. Materials: Power Macintosh or Windows PC Vernier Computer interface LoggerPro Vernier Conductivity Probe Ring stand Utility Clamp 100 mL beaker Distilled Water 1.0 M Potassium chloride (KCl) solution 1.0 M Calcium chloride (CaCL2) solution 1.0 M Iron (III) chloride (FeCl3) solution Dropper

Procedures: The computer for data collection was prepared by opening the file in the Experiment 14 folder of the Chemistry with Computers file, with the vertical axis already set at a conductivity scale of 0 to 2000 microsiemens and horizontal axis set at volume scaled from 0 to 8 drops. 100 mL of distilled water was added to a 250 mL beaker. Before adding drops of any solution, the collect button was clicked. Then, the conductivity probe was placed in the beaker containing the distilled water and the data was recorded by clicking the Keep button and typing in 0, for 0 drops, after the conductivity reading stabilized. Then, 1 drop of KCl solution was added to the distilled water and the beaker was swirled briefly. The data recording procedure was repeated, but the drop number was recorded as 1. The previous two steps were repeated until 8 drops had been added to the distilled water. The solution was then poured out into the sink and refilled again with 100 mL of distilled water. The previous six steps were repeated twice using 1.0 M iron (III) chloride solution and 1.0 M calcium chloride solution instead of the 1.0 M potassium chloride solution. Then, the data was graphed along a linear regression line. Finally, all solutions were dispensed into the sink with running water. The probe was rinsed with distilled water.

Data: Table 1. Trial 1 of conductivity of distilled water when drops of chemicals were added
Drops 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Conductivity of KCl 0 S 62 S 124 S 202 S 273 S 343 S 404 S 475 S 539 S Conductivity of CaCl2 0 S 67 S 133 S 212 S 311 S 457 S 555 S 697 S 774 S Conductivity of FeCl3 0 S 219 S 415 S 678 S 1088 S 1379 S 1688 S 1920 S 2137 S

Table 2. Trial 1 of the slope of the linear regression line for each of the chemical species
Trial 1 Slope, m KCl 68.33 S/drop CaCl2 101.3 S/drop FeCl3 281.6 S/drop

Table 3. Trial 2 of conductivity of distilled water when drops of chemicals were added
Drops 0 Conductivity of KCl 0 S Conductivity of CaCl2 0 S Conductivity of FeCl3 0 S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

32 S 101 S 142 S 183 S 230 S 363 S 453 S 472 S

104 S 347 S 480 S 568 S 723 S 1035 S 1036 S 1299 S

178 S 495 S 841 S 1168 S 1575 S 1437 S 1845 S 1790 S

Table 4. Trial 2 of the slope of the linear regression line for each of the chemical species
Trial 2 Slope, m KCl 62.7 S/drop CaCl2 160.1 S/drop FeCl3 246 S/drop

Calculations: Average slope (calculated using the conductivity data for 0 and 8 drops): Average slope = (conductivity of 8 drops - conductivity of 0 drops)/8 drops Table 5. Average slope calculations of trial 1 data
Average slope of KCl = (539 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 67.4 S/drops Average slope of CaCl2 = (774 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 96.8 S/drops Average slope of FeCl3 = (2137 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 267.1 S/drops

Table 6. Average slope calculations of trial 2 data

Average slope of KCl = (472 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 59 S/drops Average slope of CaCl3 = (1299 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 162.4 S/drops Average slope of FeCl3 = (1790 S - 0 S)/8 drops = 223.8 S/drops

Data Analysis: 1. Describe the appearance of each of curves on your graph.

All three curves on the graph looks linear, while the trial with KCl had the least steep slope, CaCl2 the second steepest, and the trial with FeCl3 the steepest slope. 2. Describe the change in conductivity as the concentration of the potassium chloride solution was increased by the addition of drops. The conductivity increased at a constant rate, thus forming a linear trend. 3. Write a chemical equation for the dissociation of KCl, FeCl3, and CaCl2 in water. KCl K+ + ClFeCl3 Fe3+ + 3ClCaCl2 Ca2+ + 2Cl4. Which graph has the largest slope value? The smallest? Since all the solutions had the same original concentration (1.0 M), what accounts for the different in the slope of the three plots? Explain. The graph that had the largest slope value is that of iron (III) chloride. Of the three solutions, the iron (III) chloride solution has the largest Vant Hoff factor (i) of four since iron (III) chloride dissolves into one iron ion with a charge of +3 and three chloride ions each with a charge of -1. Therefore, the Vant Hoff factor is 3+1 = 4. However, calcium chloride and potassium chloride have Vant Hoff factors of three and two, respectively. The difference in Vant Hoff factor accounts for the difference in the slopes of the three plots. Conclusion: The difference in Vant Hoff factor of each solution accounts for the difference in the slopes of the three plots, which graph the relationship between the number of drops of each solution in distilled water and the conductivity. For all three plots, there is a positive correlation between the amount of each solution and their related conductivities. However, what differentiates the three solutions is the rate of increase in the conductivity of the solution. Because iron (III) chloride dissociates into a higher number of ions, the conductivity increases at a rate much faster than that of calcium chloride or potassium chloride. The linear regression line plotting iron (III) chloride for each trial was significantly much steeper than the linear regression lines of calcium chloride or potassium chloride. Discussion of Theory: The ratio of the experimentally observed value of the freezing point depression to the value calculated, assuming no dissociation, is called the vant Hoff factor. The vant Hoff factor is represented by i. i = (Tfp, measured) / (Tfp, calculated) The vant Hoff factor approaches a whole number only with very dilute solutions. In more concentrated solutions, the experimental freezing behavior which is typical of all ionic compounds, is a consequence of the strong attraction between ions. The result is as if some of the positive and negative ions are paired, decreasing the total molality of particles. Indeed, in more concentrated solutions, and especially in solvents less polar than water, ions are extensively associated in ion pairs and in even larger clusters. Therefore, the vant Hoff factor can

quantitatively describe the extent of dissociation of a solute in a solution, since in short, the vant Hoff factor is the number of ions dissociated from one molecule of the solute. In the case of this experiment, the vant Hoff factor was used to compare the conductivity of three solutions: iron (III) chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride. As the vant Hoff factor increases, the conductivity of the solute in the solution increases, as well. This is observed in this experiment. Because iron (III) chloride has the highest vant Hoff factor, it has the highest conductivity. However, potassium chloride (KCl) has the lowest conductivity because of its low vant Hoff factor. Experimental Sources of Error: A primary experimental source of error was the inconsistency of the number of drops put into the distilled water. For each trial, the dropper may have leaked and dropped slightly more than one drop of the chemical species. Therefore, there may have been inconsistencies that may have led to lack of precision.