Browse by Stream
QnA
Home
QnA
Go To Your Study Dashboard

Get Answers to all your Questions

header-bg qa
  • Home
  • Engineering
  • Two half-cells are connected by a salt bridge. One half-cell contains a solution of of conc

Two half-cells are connected by a salt bridge. One half-cell contains a solution of \mathrm{CuSO}_4 of concentration 0.1 \mathrm{M} and the other half-cell contains a solution of \mathrm{CuSO}_4 of concentration 0.01 \mathrm{M}. What is the potential difference between the two half-cells at 25^{\circ} \mathrm{C} ? (\text{Given}: \left.E^{\circ}\left(\mathrm{Cu}^{2+} / \mathrm{Cu}\right)=+0.34 \mathrm{~V}\right)

Option: 1

-0.34 V


Option: 2

0.17 V


Option: 3

-0.085 V


Option: 4

0.0425 V


Answers (1)

best_answer

The cell reaction for the concentration cell is:

\mathrm{Cu}^{2+}(0.1 \mathrm{M})+2 e^{-} \rightarrow \mathrm{Cu}(s) \mid \mathrm{Cu}(s) \leftarrow 2 e^{-}+\mathrm{Cu}^{2+}(0.01 \mathrm{M})

The cell potential can be calculated using the Nernst equation:

E_{\text {cell }}=E_{\text {cell }}^{\circ}-\frac{R T}{n F} \ln (Q)

where E^{\circ}cell is the standard cell potential, R is the gas constant, T is the temperature in kelvins, n is the number of electrons transferred in the cell reaction, F is the Faraday constant, and Q is the reaction quotient.

The standard cell potential is given by:

E_{\text {cell }}^{\circ}=E_{\text {cathode }}^{\circ}-E_{\text {anode }}^{\circ}

where E_{\text {cathode }}^{\circ}  is the standard electrode potential of the cathode, and E_{\text {anode }}^{\circ} is the standard electrode potential of the anode.

Here, the standard cell potential is:

E_{\text {cell }}^{\circ}=E^{\circ}\left(\mathrm{Cu}^{2+} / \mathrm{Cu}\right)-E^{\circ}\left(\mathrm{Cu}^{2+} / \mathrm{Cu}\right)=0 \mathrm{~V}

The reaction quotient is :

Q=\frac{\left[\mathrm{Cu}^{2+}\right](0.01 \mathrm{M})}{\left[\mathrm{Cu}^{2+}\right](0.1 \mathrm{M})}=0.1

Substituting the values in the Nernst equation, we get:

E_{\text {cell }}=0-\frac{0.0257}{2} \ln (0.1)=-0.085 \mathrm{~V}

The potential difference between the two half-cells is equal to the absolute value of the cell potential, so the correct answer is C.

Posted by

Ritika Jonwal

View full answer

JEE Main high-scoring chapters and topics

Study 40% syllabus and score up to 100% marks in JEE

Similar Questions

Trending Articles/News

anam-khan

JEE Mains 2026 cut-offs for new NITs and IIITs: What to expect?
anam-khan

JEE Main Result 2026 LIVE: Session 2 results at jeemain.nta.nic.in soon; toppers, final answer key awaited
anam-khan

NEET, JEE Main 2026: Wondering which college, course to pick? Careers360’s offline counselling from April 19

Latest Question