Skip to content
Question of 115

Q.State and explain Faraday's laws of electrolysis. How many faradays of electricity is required to obtain one mole of aluminium by the electrolysis of molten aluminium oxide? [2+2+1=5] OR What is Primary Voltaic Cell? Discuss the functioning of Lead accumulator with equation. [1+4=5]

Odisha ChseOdisha CHSE +2 Science Board Exam 2025Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
0% · 0/115 Questions
🔒 Locked · start free trial →

You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.

Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →

Faraday's laws relate the mass of substance deposited/liberated at an electrode to the quantity of electric charge passed; depositing 1 mole of aluminium (a 3+ ion) needs 3 Faradays. [OR: a primary cell is used once and discarded/cannot be recharged, while a secondary cell like the lead accumulator can be recharged by passing current in the reverse direction, reversing its discharge reaction.]

Faraday's First Law of Electrolysis: the mass (w) of a substance deposited or liberated at an electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional to the quantity of electric charge (Q) passed through the electrolyte.

w ∝ Q, i.e., w = Z × Q = Z × I × t

where Z is the electrochemical equivalent of the substance (mass deposited per coulomb of charge), I is the current in amperes, and t is time in seconds.

Faraday's Second Law of Electrolysis: when the same quantity of electric charge is passed through different electrolytes (connected in series), the masses of different substances deposited or liberated at their respective electrodes are directly proportional to their chemical equivalent weights (equivalent mass = molar mass / valency/n-factor).

w1/E1 = w2/E2 (for the same charge passed through two different cells)

Faradays required for 1 mole of aluminium:

Aluminium is deposited from molten aluminium oxide (Al2O3) at the cathode by the reduction half-reaction:

Al3+ + 3e- → Al

This shows that depositing 1 mole of Al atoms requires 3 moles of electrons. Since 1 Faraday (F) is defined as the charge carried by 1 mole of electrons (F ≈ 96500 C), producing 1 mole of Al by electrolysis of molten Al2O3 requires exactly 3 Faradays of electricity.

--- OR ---

Primary Voltaic Cell: an electrochemical cell in which the cell reaction is irreversible — once the reactants are consumed (fully discharged), the cell cannot be recharged by passing an external current back through it and must be discarded. Examples: the ordinary dry cell (Leclanché cell) and the Daniell cell.

Lead accumulator (a secondary/rechargeable cell): constructed with a lead (Pb) plate as the anode and a lead plate coated with lead dioxide (PbO2) as the cathode, both dipped in moderately concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) as the electrolyte.

During discharge (functioning as a source of current):

At anode (oxidation): Pb(s) + SO4^2-(aq) → PbSO4(s) + 2e- …

Unlock everything free for 14 days

  • Full step-by-step solutions
  • Concept-first explanations
  • Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
  • PYQ mapping + timed mock tests

Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.