Commercial cells (1 Viewer)

[phyr3]

Describe and explain galvanic cells in terms of oxidation/reduction reactions.


What are the key essential points I must put in?

Also could someone clarify what is meant by "in terms of oxidation/reduction reactions."

Thanks in advance.

 

[minijumbuk]

I'm guessing the describe part wants you to briefly talk about how galvanic cells function, ie. The galvanic cell functions by readily creating a potential difference by the oxidation/reduction reactions occuring in the cell.

The explain part wants some more detail of how the oxidation/reduction reactions create a potential difference. To do this, you should state that this happens when two half cells are linked by wires into an external circuit, and connected by a salt bridge. However, this only occurs when the electrode potentials of each half cell, ie. the oxidation reaction at the anode and the reduction reaction at the cathode, gives a positive total electrode potential value. This means that it will readily convert chemical energy (electrodes/electrolytes) into electrical energy.