A Battery Is a Q-versus-K Story in Volts

You'll learnhow concentration changes the cell potential, why a concentration cell works at all, and what a dead battery actually is.

Standard conditions mean every concentration is 1 M, and a running cell leaves them almost immediately. As products build up the needle sags, and it keeps sagging until the cell reaches equilibrium and reads zero. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · E = E° − (0.05916/n) log Q · DEAD = Q REACHES K · v2

the standard voltage · how far the cell has moved · and where it stops

Before you start

What you're looking at

The cell from 9.8, with the depth of each solution standing for its concentration.

The question

A battery's voltage sags as it runs, and then it goes flat. What is actually changing?

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