CHEMICAL CELL
Electrochemistry - Based on "Bat Out of Hell"
Original Words and Music by Jim Steinman
The metal’s dissolving and the ions are forming way down at the anode today,
The solution’s 1 molar, it’s 1 atmosphere pressure and the temperature’s 298K,
There’s aqueous ions of the strip of the metal that’s acting as an electrode,
Oh and by the voltmeter (of infinite resistance) there's a filter-paper salt bridge, joining the circuit -
It was letting charged particles flow;
Oh oxidation happens as electron loss as atoms ionise,
And reduction’s the process of electron gain (the opposite of oxidise)
And they happen together in a metal half-cell, each reaction is reversible;
But one reaction happens slightly more than the other - there’s imbalance of charge,
Electrode potential…
In a chemical cell there’s a movement of electrons,
From the negative half-cell through the conducting wire they’re gone, gone, gone;
In a chemical cell there’s a movement of electrons,
And when the cell potential is positive the reaction’s feasible-le-le-le -
But with a high energy of activation, not kinetically possible.
Electrons leave the anode and they flow round the cell (in cell statements, from the left to the right)
And the ions are formed - they’re transferred by the salt bridge ‘cos it’s soaked in an electrolyte;
Positive ions undergo reductions at the cathode, with electron gain,
And (aq) turns to (s) as metal atoms form - and charge is separated again.
And the redox potential of each half-cell’s worked out
With the hydrogen standard half-cell,
It’s made of platinum black adsorbing hydrogen gas,
And H+ ions come from HCl.
And its potential is zero V at 298K, standard hydrogen half cell,
And its potential is zero V at 298K, potential is zero V at 298K, potential is zero V at 298K,
Standard hydrogen, standard hydrogen, standard hydrogen half-cell!
In a chemical cell, there’s a movement of electrons,
From the negative half-cell through the conducting wire they’re gone, gone, gone,
In a chemical cell there’s a movement of electrons,
And when the cell potential is positive, the reaction’s feasible-le-le-le
But with a high energy of activation, not kinetically possible -
But with high energy of activation, not kinetically possible…
(musical bit)
And the reaction goes, cos it’s feasible,
If the standard cell potential’s positive:
The E 0 cell values for each half cell add -
The voltage of the negative half-cell has to have its sign changed
'Cos its half-equation’s reversed,
'Cos it has to be an oxidation - not electron gain…
'Cos it has to be an oxidation - not electron gain
And the more negative the electrode potential is,
The more reactive is the metal that’s oxidised,
And the more its strength as a reducing agent as well,
The more likely it is to lose its electrons
They’re being lost by the metal that's at the anode
In a chemical cell,
And the more positive the electrode potential is,
The less reactive is the metal (won’t be oxidised),
And the more its strength as an oxidant as well,
The less likely it is to lose its electrons, electrons,
They’re being gained by the ions next to the cathode
In a chemical cell!
They’re in a chemical cell!
They’re in a chemical cell!
They’re in a chemical ceeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll!!!
© Aimee Hartnell, May 2000