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THE EFFECT OF CHANGING CURRENTSON THE MASS OF COPPER DEPOSITED ON THE CATHODEDURING ELECTROLYSIS.

Aim

I am going to investigate how the current used in electrolysis affects the mass of copper deposited on the cathode.

Hypothesis

I think that the larger the current is then the larger amount of copper will be deposited on the cathode. I think this is so because at the cathode the copper has to gain two electrons in order to neutralise it because it belongs to group 6 therefore as an outer shell that needs to gain two electrons to be complete, so, with more electrons available, due to an increased current (which is, after all, a flow of electrons) more copper will be able to react, leaving a larger amount of deposit:

(At the Cathode): Cu 2+(aq) + 2e- ¡÷ Cu(s)

(At the Anode): Cu(s) „³ Cu2+ (aq) + 2e-







When there are more electrons (because there is a larger current, there will be more copper deposited at the cathode, However the 'extra' copper has to come from somewhere and that is the anode meaning the mass of the anode w...

Posted by: Joel Chibota

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