How does concentration affect the rate of electrolysis of Copper Sulphate solution?

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Richard Coppock

How does concentration affect the rate of electrolysis of Copper Sulphate solution?

Aim:

In order to find out what factors affect the rate of electrolysis, we will change the concentration of the solution to find out which produces the highest current.

Background information:

Electrolysis is defined as:

”The breakdown of a chemical substance by electricity.”

The following is the formula for what happens during electrolysis of Copper Sulphate Solution:

2CuSO4 (AQ) + 2H2O (L)                                 2Cu (S) + O2 (G) + 2H2SO4 (AQ)

Reaction in the solution                                 Copper + Oxygen + Sulphuric Acid

Variables:

The following is a list of variables that could effect the experiment:

Table 1

Along with the above, other factors such as the sunlight on the experiment and the color of the solution could affect the experiment and must be taken into account. These will be referred to in the evaluation.

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Prediction:

This experiment shall focus on the concentration of the Copper Sulphate Solution and how it effects the current recorded. I predict that as the concentration increases the electrolysis of the solution will increase also, meaning that a higher current will be produced. This is because as the number of mol’s increases within the solution, the number of ions moving from the anode to cathode (and cathode to anode) will as well.

The ions will be moving between the two poles in order to acquire a full outer shell of electrons. This ...

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