Observing Copper Ions Prac

[shlblk]

Hi Guys,

I'm in Year 10 completing chemistry and I thought this would be the right place to post this. I completed the Observing Copper Ions Prac today in chem, I'll have a picture if it attached.
What I would like to know is how and why the power pack connected to the copper strip and mesh caused the cooper mesh to form positive ions, in terms of electron distribution from the positive and negative terminals.

Thanks.

[jgoudie]

Not a bad question, a bit rough for year 10 chem i would say.  But think about how electricity works.

It is electrons flowing away from the negative terminal in the power pack, into the copper strip.

In a complet circuit you can imagine them moving away from the mesh, into the positive terminal, out the negative terminal.

So if you have electrons leaving the mesh, you are left with positive ions.

Hope this makes a bit of sense, but yeah, i would say a bit rough for year 10, unless they gave you a little info in class.

Hi Guys,

I'm in Year 10 completing chemistry and I thought this would be the right place to post this. I completed the Observing Copper Ions Prac today in chem, I'll have a picture if it attached. (Image removed from quote.)
What I would like to know is how and why the power pack connected to the copper strip and mesh caused the cooper mesh to form positive ions, in terms of electron distribution from the positive and negative terminals.

Thanks.

[shlblk]

Thanks, it makes much more sense now!

Edit: Just to clarify, so the copper mesh gives away electrons which then flow through the positive terminal and into the negative terminal, and thus the electrons are given to the copper strip. Since the mesh gave away electrons it is positively charged and since the strip gained electrons, it is negatively charged. In the experiment, the blue copper ions formed streaks coming outwards from the mesh and towards the strip, this is because of the attraction between positive and negative ions in an effort to balance each other out right?

Thanks.

[shlblk]

Also, can anybody help me with sources of error within this experiment, so far, I can think of:

-amount of ammonia nitrate solution not properly specified, it just says fill halfway

-length of copper mesh and strip not specified