In voltaic/galvanic cells electrical current is created, while in an electrolytic cell electrical current is consumed to drive the reaction.
The ampere or amp represents the SI unit for electrical current and represents charge per second.
Example #1: Gold can be plated out of a solution containing Au3+ based on the following half reaction:
Au3+ (aq) + 3 e - ----> Au (s)
a) What mass of gold is plated by a 41 minute flow of 6.8 A current?
Example #2: A solution of Mn+5 is used to plate out Mn in an electrochemical cell. If a total of 1.13 g of Mn is plated out in a total time of 1600 seconds, what was the electrical current used? (MW of Mn is 54.94 g/mol)
Example #3: If steady current of 15 amperes is provided by a stable voltage of 12 Volts for 600 seconds, answer each of the following questions.
a) Calculate the total charge that passes through the circuit in this time.
b) Calculate the total number of moles of electrons that pass through the circuit in this time.
c) Calculate the total amount of energy that passes through the circuit in this time.
d) Calculate the power that the battery provides during this process.