Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain the job of the electrodes, the half-cell solutions, the salt bridge and the voltmeter or power supply. (Guide: “What each part of a galvanic cell does”; Practice Q1)
- I can tell a galvanic cell from an electrolytic cell using thermodynamic favourability and the direction of the energy change. (Guide: “Two kinds of electrochemical cell”; Practice Q6(d))
- I can state that oxidation happens at the anode and reduction at the cathode in every cell. (Practice Q3, Q7)
- I can describe what happens to atoms and ions at each electrode surface at the particle level. (Guide: “The view at the particle level”; Practice Q7(b))
Skills
- I can identify the anode and cathode from an observation such as a mass change or a gas forming. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q2, Q4)
- I can write the half-reactions and the electron-balanced overall equation for a cell. (Practice Q4(a), Q6)
- I can trace electron flow in the wire and ion flow in the salt bridge or molten electrolyte on a diagram. (Guide: Figures 1 and 2; Practice Q2)
- I can link the mass changes at the two electrodes through moles of electrons. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q4(b), Q6(c))
- I can predict the products of electrolysing a molten salt and say where any gas forms. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q3)
Reasoning
- I can predict and explain how removing or changing the salt bridge, or changing an electrode, alters the cell’s behaviour. (Guide: “Changing the set-up: what happens?”; Practice Q5)
- I can explain why reversing a galvanic cell’s reaction needs a power supply. (Practice Q6(d))
- I can find and correct errors in someone else’s description of a cell. (Practice Q7(a))
All ticked? Move on to Topic 9.9, Cell Potential and Free Energy, or return to the course roadmap.