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Medical College Admission Test
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

Electrolytic Cell Electron Flow

Medium General Chemistry Electrochemistry

In electrochemistry, the behavior of electrolytic cells is crucial in understanding how chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. An electrolytic cell operates under a non-spontaneous reaction by applying an external voltage. Consider the reaction where zinc ions are reduced to zinc metal at the cathode, and copper metal is oxidized to copper ions at the anode. The overall cell reaction can be described by the following half-reactions:

Zinc Reduction: Zn2+ + 2e- → Zn
Copper Oxidation: Cu → Cu2+ + 2e-

If the standard reduction potentials for these half-reactions are +0.76 V for zinc and +0.34 V for copper, what is the direction of electron flow in this electrolytic cell?

Hint

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% Correct95%