A current is a flow of electrons and each electron has a tiny electric charge.

Current is measured in amperes using an ammeter.

 C
The total charge carried by the current is measured in coulombs.
The Coulomb is the amount of electricity which passes a given point in a wire,
flowing for one second
 Q = It
C = As
In order to find the total charge carried by a current, the following relationship is used:
Current (A) x time (s) = charge in coulombs (C).
Q=Ixt
This relationship is referred to as Faraday’s Law.
1 mole of electrons has a charge of 96,500 coulombs. The charge on a mole of
electrons is called a Faraday.
FARADAY’S LAW

 Faraday’s law states that the mass of the substance discharged

at an electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional to
the quantity of electricity passing through the electrolytic cell.

 If an ion has a charge of +1 or -1 and is discharged at an

electrode, the quantity of electricity that passes every second is
96500C
 TERMS TO RECALL

 The mole is the amount of a substance that contains the same number of
particles as there are entities in 12.00 g of carbon-12.
 1 mole of molecules of any gas occupies a volume of 24 dm3 at room
temperature and pressure (r.t.p.) and 22.4 dm3 at standard temperature
and pressure (s.t.p.).

 Every chemical reaction can be represented by an equation. Electrolytic

reactions are electron transfers occurring simultaneously.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MOLE AND COULOMBS

 For the equation with copper ions becoming copper atoms, the ratio of copper atoms to
moles of electrons is 1:2. Therefore 1 mole of copper atoms requires 2 moles of electrons to
be deposited.
 Cu2+ (aq) + 2e- Cu(s)
 2 moles of electrons is equivalent to 2 Faradays
 or 2 x 96,500 Coulombs = 193,000C
 If only 0.05 moles are deposited, then this requires:
 If 1 mol of Cu requires 193,000C
Then 0.05mol of Cu requires 𝑥 C.
𝑥 = 193,000C x 0.05 = 9650C
 In the case where a gas is liberated, recall that at r.t.p 1 mole of a gas occupies 24 dm3
A QUESTION FOR US TO TRY
 A current of 0.25 A was passed through molten lead
chloride for 300 seconds, using inert electrodes

 a)Determine the quantity of electricity passed during

this experiment.
 b) Determine the mass of lead liberated
 c) Determine the volume of gas produced at room
temperature and pressure.
 SOLUTION

 The substance is molten lead chloride and therefore the only ions present are lead and
chloride ions.
 The lead ions will migrate to the cathode and become reduced to lead atoms.
 The chloride ions will migrate to the anode where they become oxidized to chlorine
molecules.
 The quantity of electricity passed can be calculated using the following relationship:
 Q = I x t, where I is the current in Amperes and t the time in seconds.
 Q=Ixt
= 0.25 x 300
= 75 Coulombs
SOLUTION

Cathode reaction:
3. The mass liberated would therefore be
 2 moles of electrons are required to liberate 1 mole of
lead atoms. Mass = # of mol x molar mass
Pb2+(l) + 2e- Pb(s)
= 0.00039 moles x 207g = 0.08g
1. Calculate the # of moles of electrons that 75C
carry  Anode reaction:
If 96500C is carried by 1 electron  2 moles of electrons are given up to liberate 1 mole of
Then 75C is carried by x chlorine molecules
x = 75/96000 = 7.77 x 10-4 moles 2Cl-(l) Cl2(g) + 2e-
 Amount of charge is the same

2. Use mole ratio to find # of moles of Pb  Mole ratio is the same

Mole ratio: e- : Pb  The volume of gas liberated can be calculated

2 : 1 If 1 mole of Cl2 at rtp occupies 24dm3

7.8x10-4 : x Then 0.00039 mol of Cl2 occupies x

x = 7.8x10-4/2 x = 24 x 0.00039mol

= 3.9x10-4 mol = 0.0094 dm3 or = 9.4 cm3

1) Copper (II) sulphate solution is
electrolysed for 15 minutes using
copper electrodes and a 4A
current.
a) What charge is carried by the
current?
b) How many moles of electrons
does this equal?
c) How many moles of copper are
deposited?
d) What mass of copper is this
2) When sodium chloride solution is
electrolysed, the gases hydrogen
and chlorine are obtained. If a
current of 2A was passed for 20
minutes
a) Calculate the volume of chlorine
gas released at room temperature
and pressure
b) Explain why the volume of
hydrogen released is the same as
the volume of chlorine.