Galvanic Cells — iLearnSTEM Labs

iLearnSTEM Labs

labs.ilearnstem.ca — Virtual Science Laboratories

Ontario Curriculum · Grades 9–12Beta

Galvanic Cellscell live

left Zn · 1.00 Mright Cu · 1.00 ME_cell 1.104 Vmeter +1.104 VI —anode Zn

Every voltage here comes from the standard reduction table plus the Nernst equation at 25 °C — swap metals, dilute a half-cell, or try the same metal twice.

Chemistry Lab 05 · Galvanic Cells — E°cell = E°(cathode) − E°(anode), Nernst at 25 °C · the cell runs down by Faraday’s law at 60× · drag to orbit, scroll to zoom

Left half-cellanode — oxidation

Zinc ion concentration1.00 M

Sliding this swaps in a fresh solution. The Nernst equation shifts the half-cell by 59.2/n mV per tenfold change — watch the meter move.

Right half-cellcathode — reduction

Copper ion concentration1.00 M

Sliding this swaps in a fresh solution. The Nernst equation shifts the half-cell by 59.2/n mV per tenfold change — watch the meter move.

Circuit & load

Salt bridge

No ion path, no cell — pull it and the meter dies.

External load

The cell has 1 Ω of internal resistance, so a load sags the terminal voltage — and the cell discharges by Faraday’s law at 60× speed: the anode dissolves, the cathode plates, and the voltage drifts toward equilibrium.

What the bench is doing

Zn|1.00 M ‖ Cu|1.00 M reads 1.104 V at open circuit — Zinc is the anode. Record it, or connect a load and run the cell down.

meter +1.104 Vno current