I used jacaranda chemistry 2's experimental method for this one. Two points I am not sure of;
1. They say in the method to specifically add warm water to the fertiliser, is there any reason for this for the reaction?
2. It says to add concentrated HCl to the solition of fertiliser and warm...
You dont need to know the odidation states I don't think but you may have to remember the equation. You can work out the oxidation states though if you need to
The dry cells have a graphite rod going through the middle and is surrounded by an electrolyte paste which contains NH4Cl and MnO2. The graphite rod is the cathode and the zinc canister is the anode and well as the cell container. The overall reaction is 2NH4 + 2Mn02 + 2H2O + Zn --> 2Mn(OH)3 +...