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Medical College Admission Test
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

Calculating Cell Potential using the Nernst Equation

Medium General Chemistry Electrochemistry

In electrochemistry, the relationship between the cell potential and the concentration of reactants and products can be described by the Nernst equation. Consider a galvanic cell where copper(II) ions ( ext{Cu}^{2+}) are reduced to solid copper (Cu) at the cathode, and zinc (Zn) is oxidized to zinc ions ( ext{Zn}^{2+}) at the anode. The standard reduction potentials ( ext{E}^ ext{o}) for the half-reactions are as follows:

Cu}^{2+} + 2e^{-} → Cu : ext{E}^ ext{o} = +0.34 ext{ V}

Zn}^{2+} + 2e^{-} → Zn : ext{E}^ ext{o} = -0.76 ext{ V}

If you have a solution where the concentration of ext{Cu}^{2+} is 1.0 M and the concentration of ext{Zn}^{2+} is 0.01 M at 25°C, what is the cell potential (E) for this galvanic cell?

Hint

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