Chapter 18, Problem 50E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: A line notation is to be used to represent each of the given electrochemical cell.

Concept Introduction: The electrochemical cells are often represented with a compact notation called a cell diagram or the line notation.

In this representation,

The oxidation half-reaction is always written on the left and the reduction on the right. A double vertical line, indicating the salt bridge, separates the two half-reactions.

The substances in different phases are separated by a single vertical line, which represents the boundary between the phases.

For some redox reactions, the reactants and products of one or both of the half-reactions may be in the same phase. In these cases, the reactants and products are simply separated from each other with a comma in the line diagram. Such cells use an inert electrode, such as platinum Pt or graphite, as anode or cathode or both.