You are on page 1of 3

D Activity 5: Electron Flow

Producing and using a flow of e-


Fig 5.1
You have learned the basic concepts behind this lab – the oxidation-
reduction reaction and activity series of metals. In Forensics, you used
these principles to identify an unknown metal and observed metal
etching (recovering serial numbers); in this unit, we will start to use
these two principles to create a battery. Today you will work with two
metals – copper and zinc – and their corresponding nitrate solutions –
copper nitrate and zinc nitrate. You will create an electrochemical cell
as you experiment with zinc and copper to determine the voltage
produced to power a variety of LED lights for your project using a
series of your batteries.

P
P R E P A R I N G

WHAT DO YOU THINK? • LE ARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Watch your instructor test the voltage from a set of alkaline batteries ranging from a tiny watch
battery to a large D battery. What do you notice? What does this tell you about batteries?
2. Watch now as your instructor takes a lithium ion battery or nickel-cadmium battery and tests its
voltage. What do you observe? Why do you think the results are what they are?
3. Take a careful look at the battery compartment from a toy (or in the picture above). What do you
notice about how the metal pieces (springs, pads) are arranged? Why are the set up this way?
Would this toy run on one single battery?
4. Finally, your instructor will show you voltage results for batteries in the storage component. This
is called putting batteries in series. In your own words, define the term series and sketch how
you could accomplish this in the laboratory based off the batteries you created in the Dominoes
unit.
5. I will set up an iron-copper electrochemical cell (fancy term for battery) for you to demonstrate
how to set one up in the lab. You will create zinc-copper cells back in lab to achieve the objective
(in the introduction…). Which do you think will produce a higher voltage? Why do you think this?
As always, include an objective for this laboratory activity and share that objective with a teammate or
laboratory partner.

1
E
E X P E R I M E N T I N G

Making a Batter y

Part A: The setup


There are a variety of ways we can establish an electrochemical cell. The important feature is that there
is a complete path for electrons to flow – much like the previous experimenting we did with the short
circuit. You instructor will establish an electrochemical cell using both a “salt bridge” and a porous cup
using iron and copper as the two electrodes, explaining the set up with the voltage probes and the flow of
electrons.
1. In your chemistry notebook, sketch both set ups and define & label the anode, cathode, flow of
electrons, and the metals and solutions.
2. Take notes on the procedure to create each type of cell, as you will have to make multiple cells to
create a series to power your LED.
Part B: Creating a zinc-copper electrochemical cell
1 . Create a single zinc-copper cell using the method your instructor indicates.
2 . Determine the voltage (potential difference) from your electrochemical cell. Call your instructor
over once you have this running.
3 . Create a second zinc-copper cell using the method your Fig 7.2
instructor indicates.
4 . Connect the second cell in series with the first (see
Figure 7.2). Sketch this in your notebook, labeling
anodes, cathodes, and the flow of electrons.
5 . Determine the voltage from your series of two
electrochemical cells and attempt to power the red LED.
Call your instructor over once you have the circuit
established with the red LED.
6 . Try to power each other color of LED, starting with orange and working your way along the
electromagnetic spectrum to UV. Note your observations.
7 . If you have time, try to create a series of your electrochemical cells to power the blue LED light or
a small toy with another group.

A
A N A L Y Z I N G

RE ADING • QUESTIONS

Reading: Electron Flow


Read Chem Talk on Pages 312 – 314 from your Active Chemistry text. Also, view the following video on
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0VUsoeT9aM.

2
Questions: Electron Flow

1. All hair dryers, shavers, and other electrical appliances that are often used in the bathroom, come
with labels mandated by the government, saying not to operate the appliance while taking a bath.
a) From what you know about solutions and conductivity, why would it be dangerous to use an
appliance while bathing?
b) Distilled water does not conduct electricity. If you were to take a bath in distilled water, would
you be safe to use an electrical appliance while bathing? Explain.
2. Draw a picture of the battery you built.
a) Show how you would connect the LED to this circuit by drawing the LED and wires to connect
to the electrodes. LEDs have different length wires on them (you may not have noticed). The
long electrode is the cathode. Make sure to distinguish the two parts of the LED.
b) Label each of these parts: copper half-cell, zinc half-cell, copper metal electrode, zinc metal
electrode, copper (II) nitrate solution, zinc nitrate solution, salt bridge, LED.
c) Reread the Chem Talk section entitled “The Path of Electricity in a Battery.” Draw arrows on
your drawing to indicate the path that negatively charged particles flow in the battery.
3. You are probably familiar with using regular AA, C or D-cell batteries (not the rechargeable kind).
Batteries eventually die and produce no more voltage. Why? (Look back at the Chem Talk
section for some ideas.)
4. Predict a metal half-cell that you could replace the zinc half-cell within your battery and produce
more voltage. Assume you would use metal ion solutions of equal concentrations in both half-
cells. Explain the reasoning behind your prediction.

C R I T I C A L L Y

CT
T H I N K I N G

ME AN? • KNOW? • BELIEVE? • CARE?

What does the activity mean?


Chemistry explains the macroscopic phenomenon (what you observe) with and explanation of what
happens at the nanoscopic level (atoms and molecules) using symbolic structures as a way to
communicate. Explain the meaning of this activity by completing the MNS table.
MACRO NANO SYMBOLIC
Describe how you would How do electrons flow through Write balance half reactions for
construct a nickel-cadmium a nickel-cadmium battery when a nickel-cadmium battery.
battery using electrodes, it is connected in series with
solutions, and wires. the LED?

How do I know?
Explain your observations with the various LED lights and the two zinc-copper cells in series.

Why do I believe?
If alkaline batteries each produce the same voltage per battery, why have multiple sizes of alkaline
batteries? In other words, what is the difference? Why have D-batteries in my daughter’s swing and
AAA batteries in my remote control?
Why do I care?
You will have to power an LED in this experiment and most of you will choose to create a cell. Create
two PowerPoint slides using a cell to power an LED, describing the set up and the chemistry
(macro/nano/symbolic) behind the cell in detail for your instructor to provide feedback on.

You might also like