How Does Ion Charge Affect Mass Deposition in Electrolysis?

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The discussion revolves around a chemistry coursework experiment focused on electrolysis, where the charge of ions (+1, +2, +3) was varied to observe its effect on mass deposition at the cathode. The participant, Adam, noted a trend where higher charge ions resulted in greater mass changes, leading to more moles deposited. He sought clarification on whether the increased mass deposition was due to higher attraction to the cathode or the inherent mass of the ions. Feedback from other participants emphasized the need for more detailed experimental data, including current readings and electrode materials, to better understand the results. The conversation highlights the complexities of analyzing electrolysis and the importance of precise experimental design.
  • #61
More moles of iron than silver.
More mass deposited using iron than silver.
Higher current using iron than silver.
 
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  • #62
Wrong.
Wrong.
Right.

Charge is defined as the sum of the products of the numbers of charge carrying species with the numerical values of the charges on the species.

Try again.
 
  • #63
sorry this is over my head, its just guesses now. looking at my results, iron deposited more moles than silver and copper.
 
  • #64
We're working on your prediction which you are then going to compare to the results.

If cations are the only charge carrying species in solution, silver at +1, or iron at +3, at the same concentration, you predict three times the current. If you weigh the cathodes, divide by atomic weight to get number of moles, and compare the number of moles, is the number of moles of iron less than, equal to, or greater than the number of moles of silver?
 
  • #65
Silver - 0.033g / 108 = 0.000306moles

Iron - 0.110g / 56 = 0.001964moles

The number of moles of iron(1964) is greater than the number of moles for silver(306).
 
  • #66
I'm not even going to ask where those numbers came from.

One silver ion is reduced in time t; one ferric ion is reduced in the same time t. For silver, the current is one unit charge over t; for iron the current is 3 unit charges in the same time t, or three times greater current. The number of moles of silver is one over Avogadro's number; the number of moles of iron is ONE over Avogadro's number.
 
  • #67
those were the exact numbers out of my coursework table, look at the moles deposited table.
27x43dy.jpg
 
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