Work sheet 1 – electrochemical cells

1. Set up the anode, cathode and overall equations of the following cells and calculate their cell
potential:

A) Li/Li+ Cu/Cu2+

B) Mg/Mg2+ I2/I+

C) Cl2/Cl+ Fe/Fe2+

2. An electrochemical cell contains two platinum electrodes, the electrodes are connected to
the plus and minus poles of a battery. The electrolyte is an aqueous solution of copper chloride.

A) Sketch the electrochemical cell including the external and internal circuits.

B) Set up the anode and cathode reaction equations and the reaction equation for the overall
process.

C) Describe the observations, that can be made at each of the electrodes.

D) Calculate the Gibbs free energy of the overall reaction by using the redox potentials of the
redox pairs.

E) Is the electrochemical cell a galvanic or electrolytic cell?

3. In an electrochemical cell we have a Zink-Electrode sitting in a Zink-Chloride solution and an

Iodine-Electrode sitting in a potassium iodide solution.

A) Set up the anode and cathode reaction equations and the reaction equation for the overall
process.

B) Calculate the cell potential based on the Gibbs free enthalpy of the reaction ∆Go = -258
kJ/mol

E) Is the electrochemical cell a galvanic or electrolytic cell?