Inert and Reactive Electrodes Flashcards

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In electrolysis, what is an electrode?

An electrode is a solid piece of conductive material that lets electric current pass into or out of the electrolyte.

What does it mean if an electrode is inert?

An inert electrode does not react or change chemically during electrolysis; it only provides a surface for the reaction.

Give two common materials used as inert electrodes in school electrolysis experiments.

Graphite (a form of carbon) and platinum are often used as inert electrodes.

Why do scientists often choose inert electrodes when they want to identify the products of electrolysis?

Because inert electrodes do not react, the products made at the electrodes come only from the ions and water in the solution.

What is a reactive electrode?

A reactive electrode is one that can take part in the reaction, so its atoms can gain or lose electrons and become ions or new substances.

What usually happens to a reactive metal anode during electrolysis?

Its metal atoms lose electrons to form positive ions, so the anode slowly dissolves and loses mass.

In electroplating an object with copper, why is a copper anode used instead of an inert anode?

The copper anode is reactive and dissolves to make copper ions, which replace the copper that coats the object, so the solution stays about the same concentration.

If you electrolyse copper sulfate solution with inert carbon electrodes, what happens to the blue colour of the solution and why?

The blue colour fades because copper ions are removed from the solution to plate onto the cathode, and the inert anode does not add any new copper ions.

How could you tell from your observations that an electrode has behaved as a reactive electrode?

You might see it get smaller, dissolve, or form a new coating, showing that it has taken part in the reaction.

At an inert anode in aqueous electrolysis, where do the substances that are discharged (like oxygen gas) come from?

They come from ions or water in the electrolyte, not from the electrode, because the electrode itself does not react.

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