Balance the following skeleton ionic reaction, and calculate E°cell to decide whether the reaction is spontaneous: Ag(s) + Cu2+ (aq) LaTeX: \longrightarrow⟶ Ag+ (aq) + Cu(s) Enter a number so 1, 2, 3 etc E°cell = spontaneous? enter yes or no (MTS 3/3/2019)

2Ag(s) + Cu^2+(aq) > 2Ag^+(aq) + Cu(s)

Explanation:

Ag(s)/Ag^+ (aq) is the anode as shown while Cu^2+(aq)/Cu^2(s) is the cathode.

E°cell= E°cathode -E°anode= 0.34 -0.80= -0.5V

The cell is not spontaneous as written because E°cell is negative. This implies that the electrodes of the cell must be interchanged to make the cell spontaneous.