INVESTIGATORY PROJECT OF PHYSICS

ON
“TO STUDY THE VARIOUS FACTORS ON WHICH THE INTERNAL
RESISTANCE/EMF OF A CELL DEPENDS.”

For the partial fulfilment of the conditions laid down

by AISSCE 2023-24

SUBMITTED BY
NAME- ARMON BHUYAN
CLASS - XII - A
AISSCE ROLL NO -

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

MR SUSANTA KUMAR SAMAL
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to profound sense of gratitude to
my guide Mr Susanta Kumar Samal ,my
physics teacher for her valuable guidance
and suggestions during preparation of my
project work.

I am also extremely grateful to my

Principal , Mr Bipin Kumar Sahoo for his
encouragement and constant inspiration.

Date -

Signature of Student -
 DECLARATION
I, Armon Bhuyan ,a student of class XII of D.A.V
Public School, Pokhariput, hereby submit the
project entitled “To study the various factors
on which the internal resistance/emf of a cell
depends.” for the Physics practical of AISSCE
2023-24. This project consists of the original
work done by me under the able guidance and
supervision of my Physics teacher Mr Susanta
Kumar Samal.

Signature of the student

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “To study the
various factors on which the internal resistance/emf of a
cell depends.” is an original piece of work by Armon
Bhuyan of class XII Sec A and is in accordance with the
topic allocated to him.
This project is submitted towards the partial
fulfilment of the conditions laid down for AISSCE 2023-24
and embodies the work done by him under my guidance
and supervision.

Signature of external examiner

Signature of internal examiner

Signature of the Supervisor

 INDEX

II. Introduction
I. Electrochemical Cells
ii. Daniel Cell
iii. Electromotive Force
II. Objective
III. Apparatus
IV. Circuit Diagram
V. Theory
VI. Procedure
VII. Observations
VIII. Conclusions
IX. Precautions
X. Sources of error
XI. 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 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
l1−l2
r = ( l) R
1
lWhere
l 1 , 2 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. K
6. To test the corrections of the connections.(insert the plug in the key 1 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). K
7. Without inserting the plug in the key 2 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. l
9. Measure the balancing length 1 between the point and the end P of the wire. K
10. Take out the 2000 ohm plug again from the resistance box R.B. introduce plugs in the key 1
,as K well as in key 2 . 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. l
13. Measure the balancing length 2 from end P. K
14. Remove the plug keys at 1 Kand 2 .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

 o see the effect of distance between the electrodes on internal resistances keeping the other
T
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:-

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

2. Table for effect of separation between electrodes:-

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

3. Table for effect of temperature:-

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. www.google.com
IV. en.wikipedia.org

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