20152016

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNAL RESISTANCE/EMF OF A

| Submitted by: Ayushi Shakya

INDEX
I.
II.
III.

Certificate
Acknowledgement
Introduction
i. Electrochemical Cells
ii. Daniel Cell
iii. Electromotive Force
IV. Objective
V. Apparatus
VI. Circuit Diagram
VII. Theory
VIII. Procedure
IX. Observations
X. Conclusions
XI. Precautions
XII. Sources of error
XIII. Bibliography
XIV.

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that
AYUSHI SHAKYA, a student of class XII
has successfully completed the research project on the
topic
FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNAL RESISTANCE/EMF
OF A CELL
under the guidance of Mrs. Manjusha Rawat (Subject
teacher).
This project is absolutely genuine and does not indulge in
plagiarism of any kind. The references taken in making this
project have been declared at the end of this report.

Mrs. Manjusha Rawat

PGT Physics
Kendriya Vidyalaya
Andrews Ganj

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude
to my teacher
Mrs. Manjusha Rawat as well as our
principal Mrs. Rashmi Mishra
who gave me the
golden opportunity to do this wonderful project
on the factors affecting internal resistance/emf
of cell, which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and I came to know about so many new
things
I am really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents
and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this
project within the limited time frame.

Ayushi Shakya
XII A

INTRODUCTION
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
An electrochemical cell is a device by which electric energy is generated at the cost of
chemical energy due to chemical action taking place in the cell. They are of two types:
1. Primary Cells
2. Secondary Cells
PRIMARY CELL: It is the cell in which electrical energy is produced due to chemical
energy. The chemical reaction in the cell is irreversible.
E.g. Daniel cell, Leclanche cell.
SECONDARY CELL: It is that cell in which the electrical energy is first stored up as
chemical energy and when the outside circuit is closed to draw the current from the cell
the stored chemical energy is reconverted into electrical energy. The chemical reactions
in this case are reversible.
E.g. lead acid accumulator, Edison cell.

DANIEL CELL
The Daniel cell was invented by a British chemist, John Frederic Daniel. In the Daniel
cell, copper and zinc electrodes are immersed in a solution of copper (II) sulphate
(CuSO4 (aq)) and zinc (II) sulphate (ZnSO4 (aq)) respectively. The two half cells are
connected through a salt bridge. Here zinc acts as anode and copper acts as cathode.
At the anode, zinc undergoes oxidation to form zinc ions and electrons. The zinc ions
pass into the solution. If the two electrodes are connected using an external wire, the
electrons produced by the oxidation of zinc travel through the wire and enter into the
copper cathode, where they reduce the copper ions present in the solution and form
copper atoms that are deposited on the cathode.
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The anodic reaction is represented as:

The cathodic reaction is represented as:

The difference of excess electrons on the anode and deficit of electrons on the cathode
creates an electrical potential between the two electrodes.
The ions pass through the salt bridge to maintain charge balance until such a time as
the anode and cathode reach electrical equilibrium of zero volts as chemical equilibrium
is reached in the cell.
The so-called "salt bridge" is not made of salt but could be made of material able to
wick the cations and anions (salts) in the solutions, where the flow of positively charged
cations along the "bridge" amounts to the same number of negative charges flowing in
the opposite direction.

ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE
Electromotive force, also called emf (denoted and measured in volt), is the voltage developed by
any source of electrical energy such as a battery or dynamo. It is generally defined as the
electrical potential for a source in a circuit.

OBJECTIVE
To study the various factors on which the internal resistance/emf of a cell
depends.

APPARATUS
A Potentiometer , a battery (battery eliminator) , two way keys , a rheostat of low
resistance , a galvanometer , a high resistance , an ammeter , a cell , a Jockey , a set
square , connecting wires , water bath , thermometer(0-100C) , burner , tripod stand ,
wire gauge .

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Figure: Circuit diagram for internal resistance of a cell

THEORY
The internal resistance of a cell is the resistance offered by its electrolyte to the flow of
ions. The internal resistance of a cell
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Is directly proportional to the distance between the electrodes.

Is inversely proportional to facing surface area of the electrodes in electrolyte.
Decrease with increase in temperature of electrolyte.
Is inversely proportional to concentration of electrolyte.

The internal resistance of a cell is given by

r=(

l 1l 2
)R
l1

Where

l1

l2

are the balancing lengths without resistance and with resistance

(shunt) , respectively and R is the shunt resistance in parallel with the given cell.

PROCEDURE
Step 1
1.
2.

Draw the circuit diagram showing the scheme of connections.

Clean the ends of the connecting wires with sand paper and make tight
connections according to the circuit diagrams.
3. Tight the plugs of the resistance box.
4. Check the e.m.f. of the battery and cell and see that e.m.f. and see that e.m.f. of
the battery is more than that of given cell ,otherwise null or balance point will not
be obtained (E' >E).
5. Take maximum current from the battery , making rheostat resistance small.
K1
6. To test the corrections of the connections.(insert the plug in the key
and

7.
8.

9.

note the ammeter reading .Take out 2000 ohm resistance plug from resistance box.
Place the jokey first at the end P of the wire and then at the end Q. If the
galvanometer shows deflection in opposite direction in the two cases the
connections are correct).
K2
Without inserting the plug in the key
adjust the rheostat so that a null point is
obtained on the 4th wire of potentiometer.
Insert the 2000 ohm plug back in the position in resistance box and by slightly
adjusting the jockey near the previous obtained position of null point, obtain null
point position accurately, using a set square.
l
Measure the balancing length 1 between the point and the end P of the wire.

10. Take out the 2000 ohm plug again from the resistance box R.B. introduce plugs in
K1
K2
the key
,as well as in key
. Take out small resistance
(1-5 ) from the resistance box R connected in parallel with the cell.
11. Slide the jockey along the potentiometer wire and obtain null point.
12. Insert 2000 ohms plug back in its position in R.B. and if necessary make further
adjustment for sharp null point.
l
13. Measure the balancing length 2 from end P.
14. Remove the plug keys at

K1

and

K2

.Wait for some time and for the same

value of current (as shown by ammeter) repeat the steps 7 to 13.

15. Repeat the observations for different values of R repeating each observation
twice.
16. Calculate the internal resistance of cell by using the above relation for r.
Step 2
To see the effect of distance between the electrodes on internal resistances
keeping the other factors constant ,vary separation between electrodes and measure
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internal resistance in each case.

Step 3
To see the effect of the temperature of electrolyte on internal resistance by
keeping other factors constant.
Keep primary cells in water bath to heat the electrolyte. Determine the internal
resistance at various temperatures.
Step 4
To see the effect of concentration (nature) of electrolyte on internal resistance by :Keeping the other factors constant , decrease concentration of electrolyte by
adding the distilled water and determine internal resistance of cell in each case .

OBSERVATIONS
(A)Internal resistance of cell
1. Table for internal resistance:S.No.

1.
2.
3.

Ammeter
Reading
(A)

Pos. of null point ( cm )

With R (l1 )

0.3
0.3
0.3

660.5
660.5
660.5

Without R
( l2 )
35.5
77.2
108.3

Shunt
Resistance
R()

r=( (l 1l 2)/l 1 )R

1
2
3

0.94
1.77
2.51

(B) To study the effect of separation between the electrodes

2. Table for effect of separation between electrodes:S.No.

Separation between

Balancing
length

Balancing
length

1.
2.
3.

Electrodes-d (cm)
1.2
2.5
3.7

(cm) ( l1 )
326.6
320.7
660.5

(cm) (l2)
276.9
219.1
350.9

r=( (l 1l 2)/l 1
)R
()
0.456
0.95
1.406

r/d

0.38
0.38
0.38

(c) Effect of temperature of electrolyte on the internal resistance

3. Table for effect of temperature:10

S.No.

Temperature

l1

l2

Resistance

l 1l 2
r=(
)R
l1

Tr

1.
2.
3.

(T) C
40
32
27

(cm)
325
552
660.5

(cm)
12
23.6
35.5

R ()
1
1
1

()
0.96
0.95
0.94

(K)
301.44
291.96
283.87

CONCLUSIONS
1. The Electromotive Force of the cell is constant and is equal to E = 0.98 Volt
2. The internal resistance of a cell is directly proportional to the separation between
the electrodes.
3. The internal resistance of a cell is inversely proportional to the area of the
electrodes dipped in electrolyte.
4. The internal resistance of a cell is inversely proportional to the temperature of
electrolytes.
5. The internal resistance of a cell is inversely proportional to the concentration of the
electrolyte.

PRECAUTIONS
1. The connections should be neat , clean and tight.
2. The plugs should be introduced in the keys only when the observations are to be
taken.
3. The positive polls of the battery E and cells E1 and E2 should , all be connected to
the terminal at the zero of the wires.
4. The jockey key should not be rubbed along the wire. It should touch the wire
gently.
5. The ammeter reading should remain constant for a particular set of observation. If
necessary , adjust the rheostat for this purpose.
6. The e.m.f. of the battery should be greater than the e.m.f.'s of the either of the two
cells.
7. Some high resistance plug should always be taken out from resistance box before
the jockey is moved along the wire.
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8. The e.m.f. of the battery should be greater than that of the cell.
9. For one set of observation the ammeter reading should remain constant.
10.
Current should be passed for short time only , while finding the null point.
11.
Rheostat should be adjusted so that initial null point lies on last wire of the
potentiometer.
12.
Cell should not be disturbed during experiment.
13.
Jockey should not be rubbed against the potentiometer wire.

SOURCES OF ERROR
1. The auxiliary battery may not be fully charged.
2. The potentiometer wire may not be of uniform cross-section and material density
throughout its length.
3. End resistances may not be zero.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Physics NCERT class X!!

Comprehensive Physics Practical class X!!
www.google.com
en.wikipedia.org

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