Acknowledgement

It is my proud privilege to offer my sincere thanks

to the Central Board of Secondary Education who has
given me this opportunity to make a project on this subject
successfully.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks and
gratitude to Dr. Vidya Sravanthi, the principal of my
school to complete this in time.
I am extremely indebted to our physics teacher
__________________ for his able guidance, timely help
and constructive encouragements towards the completion
of this project.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to our lab
assistance for guiding me on a step-by-step basis and
ensuring that I completed all my experiments with ease.

Then I would like to thank my parents and friends who

have helped me with their valuable suggestions and guidance
has been helpful in various phases of the completion of this
project.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my

classmates who have helped me a lot.
 PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

TOPIC: To study various factors on which the

internal resistance/EMF of a cell depends

Submitted to the department of physics, REQELFORD

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Rampally for the fulfilment of
AISSCE - 2022-2023, SCIENCE.

Submitted by: -
___________________
Class: XII-A
Roll no:
 Index
1. Introduction
2. Electrochemical Cells
3. Daniel Cell
4. Electromotive Force
5. Objective
6. Apparatus
7. Circuit Diagram
8. Theory
9. Procedure
10. Observations
11. Conclusions
12. Precautions
13. Sources of error
14. Bibliography
 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.
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 low 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 l 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 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 l 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 9 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

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 XII
II. Comprehensive Physics Practical class XII
III. [Link]
IV. [Link]