Thinking+Flexibly

Thinking flexibly Can you consider alternate ideas? Can you deal with more than one solution simultaneously? Is YOUR way of solving something the ONLY way?

For my culminating project, my original aim was to find the relationship between the temperature of the electrode solution and the number of Volts produced. However, Volts measure the force required to push the electrons from the anode to the cathode. However, the different temperatures of the electrode solutions might not affect the voltage. I then recalled our kinetic energy rule: that as the temperature increases, the motion of the subatomic particles increases as well. I realized that I need to investigate the speed of the current of the battery. Therefore, I changed the dependent variable to Amps, which measures the speed of the current of the battery. Through my flexible thinking, I was able to alter my variables and aim to fit my topic. My final research question is: __What is the impact of changing the temperature of Iron and Copper electrode solutions on the speed of the current of the battery?__

//The following is the amount of background research I had to find that enabled my flexible and altering solution to change my dependent variable.//

Heat on kinetic energy: Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of matter. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion (a moving object). As the temperature increases, the motion of subatomic particles increases. This means that the particles are moving at a faster rate. The law of conservation of energy: in any chemical reaction or physical process, energy can be converted from one form to another, but it is neither created nor destroyed. Electrolysis: conduction of electricity due to the movement and discharge of the ions. The positive ions move towards the negatively charged electrode (the cathode). When they get there, each ion picks up an electron from the electrode to form an atom. The movement of electrons from the cathode onto the ions leaves spaces on the cathode. The power source (the battery) moves electrons along the wire in the external circuit to fill those spaces. That flow of electrons would be seen as an __electric current__. Meanwhile, negative ions are attracted to the positive electrode (the anode). When they get there, each negative ion loses an electron to the anode to form an atom. These then pair up to make molecules. How a voltaic cell works: Voltaic cell: A single electrochemical cell. The voltaic cell consists of a sheet of copper metal and a sheet of zinc metal in solutions of their ions. This is separated by a sheet of paper soaked in concentrated salt solution (called an electrolyte or a salt bridge). It acts as an electrolyte conducting current by the flow of ions. Together, these cells form a battery able to produce an electric current. Since oxidation and reduction is happening, this process can be called a redox reaction. Anode: The electrode where oxidation occurs. It is the negative electrode (negative polarity) because electrons are produced here. Oxidation: The loss of electrons Cathode: The electrode where reduction occurs. It is the positive electrode because electrons are gained by the oxidizing agent here. Reduction: Gain of electrons Electrode: An electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit. A voltmeter is used to measure the ability of the cell to move electrons through a circuit. It is connected between the two electrodes to measure the force required to push the electrons from the anode and cathode. This is called the voltage (cell potential) measured in Volts (V). The rate of electron flow is measured using an ammeter measured in Amps (A).
 * Background research**

Sources: [] [] __ http://en.wikipedia.org ____ /wiki/ Electrode __ Class work packet- Unit 8: Oxidation and Reduction Chemistry: Matter and Change. Glencoe Science.