Order of species in cell diagram?

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Kayla Denton 1A
Posts: 106
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:02 pm

Order of species in cell diagram?

Postby Kayla Denton 1A » Sat Feb 07, 2015 9:44 am

Hi! I understand that for a cell diagram, the anode is on the left, the cathode is on the right, and the electrodes are at the ends... but within the anode or cathode, does it matter what order you write the species in?
e.g. if the anode has 2I-(aq) --> I2(s) + 2e-
and the cathode has 2Ce4+ + 2e- --> 2Ce3+
Would you write Pt(s)|I2(s)|I-(aq)||Ce4+(aq), Ce3+(aq)|Pt(s) (I used Pt at the anode since I2 is not a metal.)
OR would you switch around the I2(s) and I-(aq), or switch around the Ce4+(aq) and Ce3+(aq) for any reason??
Thanks so much!

Regina Chi 2K
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:02 pm

Re: Order of species in cell diagram?

Postby Regina Chi 2K » Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:04 pm

Usually you have:

anode ll cathode...

In the cell diagram, you would usually have:

electrode (if needed) l reactant l product ll reactant l product l electrode (if needed)...

Shannon Han 2B
Posts: 48
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:02 pm

Re: Order of species in cell diagram?

Postby Shannon Han 2B » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:41 am

I was looking at previous posts about this and I do not think the order matters if it was Ce4+ or Ce3+ as long as you have it on the correct side of the salt bridge.

Justin Le 2I
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:02 pm

Re: Order of species in cell diagram?

Postby Justin Le 2I » Tue Feb 10, 2015 12:28 am

You can probably get away with ordering it anyway, but some graders prefer oxidation/reduction.


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