Research Question:
Does a higher voltage lead to more mass on graphite?
INTRODUCTION
Hypothesis: Higher voltage leads to more mass amassed on graphite electrode.
Electrolysis- the process in which electric current passes through a solution to effect a chemical change. In this case there is copper, copper sulphate and graphite. In a electrolysis there is an electrolyte which is the copper sulphate, the anode which is the graphite. This is the positively charged electrode. Graphite is usually used in electrolysis. This electrode does not interfere with the reactions occurring at the surface of the of the electrode. Its main purpose is work as a connection between the electrical circuit and the …show more content…
At the beginning the mass was 40,66g in both experiment. The two tables above show what mass was got after the experiments. Some of the results above for example the 5th and the 6th in experiment one had to be repeated because the results was not that great. Instead of the mass increasing , it went down.
The higher the voltage in the experiment the more the mass increased however in this one it went back but the 12v was repeated and a better results was acquired at 6th in experiment 1 which made the hypothesis right. Also in experiment 2 , 2nd and 3rd . The first mass increased as it was not supposed to increase too much from(40,76g to 41.05g) however the experiment of 8v was repeated and a better results was got in the 3rd (40,76g to 40,83g). This seemed much logical with the results that were being acquired.
In the electrolysis there is a flow of electrons from the positive to the negative electrodes. From the anode to the cathode. From the graphite to the copper.
The cations in this experiment which is the sulphate and hydroxide will migrate to the negatively ions or cathode copper . Positive ions are attracted to the negative electrode, gain electrons so are reduced. This is …show more content…
This means a faster rate of reduction at the cathode and faster rate of oxidation at the anode. This means a greater number of moles of product. A higher voltage applied to the cell means that the cathode will have enough current to bring about reduction and the same goes for anode, it will have enough energy to bring about oxidation. Higher voltage enables the electrolytic cell to oxidize or reduce difficult compounds. And this can change what products will form in an experiment. Both Voltage and current will determine what will form in a cell. The higher the voltage the more the product. For example in the experiment, the amount of mass was increasing after every voltage and that is due higher voltage. Less voltage the anode will not even formed bubbles, no oxygen. Less voltage than 6 volts, the reaction won´t even start. The lesser the voltage, the less the product. The product which is the deposit of copper metal on electrode surface will be