Question

Calculate the cell potential (cell E ) at 25°C (298 K) for the following reaction if the Cu2+ion concentration is 0.042 M and the Fe2+ion concentration is 0.181 M.

a) True
b) False

Answer 1

The provided information is insufficient to calculate the cell potential as the full balanced redox reaction and standard cell potential (E°cell) are required. However, normally one would use a simplified Nernst equation at 298 K to calculate Ecell for a given reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the cell potential (Ecell) for a given reaction, we can apply the Nernst equation, especially because the query specifies conditions (25°C or 298 K) that allow for a simplified version of the equation. The reaction mentioned in the question seems to be misquoted and incomplete; thus, we cannot proceed with the calculation. For accurate assistance, the full balanced redox reaction and standard cell potential (E°cell) are required. Nonetheless, assuming we had these, the general form of the Nernst equation is:

Ecell = E°cell - (0.0591/n) log(Q)

Here, 'n' represents the number of moles of electrons transferred in the reaction, and 'Q' is the reaction quotient, which would include the concentrations of Cu²⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions mentioned. A key point is that the cell potential decreases by 0.0591 V for each tenfold increase in the reaction quotient Q, when a two-electron process is involved (n=2).

To conclude whether the reaction will occur spontaneously, we would evaluate if Ecell is greater than zero, which would indicate spontaneity under the given conditions.