AIM → To design and carry out an experiment to investigate how charge affects electrolysis of dilute sulfuric acid by varying the time taken for each experiment, as time is directly proportional to charge
HYPOTHESIS → Electrolysis is the process by which ionic substances are broken down into simpler substances when electric current is passed through them. Ionic substances are formed when metals react with nonmetals and are composed of charged particles called ions. The ions must be free ions in order for electrolysis to take place. When current starts flowing during electrolysis, in the case of sulfuric acid, the positively charged ions, the hydrogen ions move towards the cathode which has a negative charge, forming hydrogen atoms as the…show more content… My hypothesis can be supported by Faraday’s first law of electrolysis which states that "The mass of a substance altered at an electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional to the quantity of electricity transferred at that electrode. Quantity of electricity refers to the quantity of electrical charge, typically measured in coulomb."
Faraday’s law can be written as → n= Q zF
n→ number of moles of a substance produced at the electrode
Q→ the charge in coulombs
F→ Faraday’s constant (96485 C mol -1) z→ number of electrons transferred at the electrode
Charge can be written as Q=It. Charge is directly proportional to current and…show more content… Set the voltage to eight volts and keep it constant throughout the experiment
Add sulfuric acid to the electrolysis kit (insure the electrodes are completely submerged)
Label the test tubes with intervals of 0.5 ml
Fill the two labeled test tubes with dilute sulphuric acid. Making sure no acid falls out of the tube.
Invert it and carefully place the open end on top of each electrode
Make sure when doing step 6. No air bubbles are formed (they can affect readings)
Switch on the power pack and let the current flow through the circuit for ten seconds
Check on the ammeter if the current remains constant throughout the experiment (1.8 A)
Record the amount of hydrogen formed on the cathode every ten seconds eight times
Record the values in a table
Repeat steps 1. To 10. Three more times to make sure the results are more accurate
Change the sulfuric acid with the same concentration each trial to insure more accurate results
The number of moles of hydrogen formed were calculated by the formula n= volume 24