INDEX

I. Certificate
II. Acknowledgement
III. Introduction
IV. Electrochemical Cells
V. Daniel Cell
VI. 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
 CERTIFICAT
E

This is to certify that

KSHITIJ KUMAR, a student of class XIIth
has successfully completed the research project on the topic
“TO STUDY VARIOUS FACTORS ON WHICH THE INTERNAL
RESISTANCE/EMF OF A CELL DEPENDS” under the guidance of
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.

MR. …………………………..
(PHYSICS TEACHER )
LITTLE FLOWER
HOUSE
NAGWA – 221107
DATE: ………………….. REMARK:
……………………….
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my subject

teacher as well as our principal Mrs. AMITA SINGH 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.
INTRODUCTIO
N
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 (CuSO 4 (aq)) and zinc (II) sulphate (ZnSO 4
(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.

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(0-100°C) , burner , tripod stand , wire gauge .
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

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. Is directly proportional to the distance between the electrodes.
ii. Is inversely proportional to facing surface area of the
electrodes in electrolyte. iii. Decrease with
increase in temperature of electrolyte.
iv. Is inversely proportional to concentration of electrolyte.
The internal resistance of a cell is given by.
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. Draw the circuit diagram showing the scheme of connections.
2. 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.
6. To test the corrections of the connections.(insert the plug in
the key K1 and 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).
7. Without inserting the plug in the key K2 adjust the rheostat so
that a null point is obtained on the 4th wire of potentiometer.
8. 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.
9. Measure the balancing length l1 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 the key K1 ,as well as in key K2 . Take out
small resistance
(1-5 Ω) 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.
13. Measure the balancing length l2 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
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 .

Position of null point (Cm)

Ammeter Shunt resistance R (Ω ) R = ( (l1-l2)/l1 )R
S. NO. reading Ω
(A) With R (l1) Without R
(l2)
1 0.3 660.5 35.5 1 0.94
2 0.3 660.5 77.2 2 1.77
3 0.3 660.5 108.3 3 2.51

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

2. Table for effect of separation between electrodes

Separation Balanci Balancing

R = ( (l1-l2)/l1 )R
S. NO. between ng length Ω
r/d
electrodes-d (Cm) (cm) (l1) (cm) (l2)
 1. 1.2 326.6 276.9 0.456 0.38
2. 2.5 320.7 219.1 0.95 0.38
3. 3.7 660.5 350.9 1.406 0.38

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

3. Table for effect of temperature

S. NO. Temperat l1 l2 Resistanc R = ( (l1-l2)/l1 )R ( Tr

ure e Ω)
(cm) (cm) (Ω k )
(T) 0C R (Ω )
1. 40 325 12 1 0.96 301.44
2. 32 552 23.6 1 0.95 291.96
3. 27 660.5 35.5 1 0.94 283.87

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.
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. Physics NCERT class X!!
II. Comprehensive Physics Practical class X!!
III. www.google.com
IV. en.wikipedia.org