Suppose a galvanic cell contains one nickel electrode and one copper electrode. At 25°C, nickel has a negative reduction potential and copper has a positive reduction potential. At which electrode will reduction occur? Explain.
I believe the copper will be oxidized and the nickel reduced: Right?
What are the potentials? I could look them up but I should use numbers from your text/notes.
I believe the reduction values are .15 (copper) and -.25 (nickel)
Actually, in a galvanic cell, the reduction half-reaction occurs at the electrode with the more positive reduction potential. In this case, since copper has a positive reduction potential and nickel has a negative reduction potential, reduction will occur at the copper electrode.
This is because the more positive reduction potential indicates a greater tendency for a substance to gain electrons and be reduced. Conversely, the more negative reduction potential indicates a lesser tendency to gain electrons and be reduced.
Therefore, in the given galvanic cell, copper will be reduced at the copper electrode, while nickel will be oxidized at the nickel electrode.
Actually, in a galvanic cell, reduction occurs at the electrode with a positive reduction potential, while oxidation occurs at the electrode with a negative reduction potential. This is due to the flow of electrons from the electrode with a more negative reduction potential to the electrode with a more positive reduction potential.
In this case, since nickel has a negative reduction potential and copper has a positive reduction potential, reduction will occur at the copper electrode, and oxidation will occur at the nickel electrode.
To verify this information, you can refer to the Standard Reduction Potentials table, which lists the reduction potentials for various electrode reactions. Look for the reduction potentials of nickel and copper and compare their values. The more positive value indicates the electrode where reduction will occur.