Electroplating

What is electroplating?

• A process that uses heat to fuse two different metals together.

• A method to remove impurities from a metal object.

• A process where an object made of one type of metal is covered with a thin layer of another type of metal.

• A technique for strengthening metal alloys.

What is a common application of electroplating?

• To create solid gold or silver jewelry.

• To make inexpensive jewelry appear more valuable.

• To purify water by removing metal ions.

• To generate electricity from metal reactions.

Electroplating is a type of electrolysis, which means it uses electricity to achieve what?

• To heat metals to their melting point.

• To create a physical change in a substance.

• To cause a chemical change.

• To separate different metals in an alloy.

What happens to a neutral silver atom (Ag) when it loses an electron during the electroplating process?

• It becomes a negatively charged silver ion (Ag-).

• It remains a neutral silver atom but changes its physical state.

• It becomes a positively charged silver ion (Ag+).

• It combines with a copper atom to form an alloy.

What happens to silver atoms from the solid piece of silver during electroplating?

• They gain electrons and become solid silver.

• They lose electrons and become silver ions.

• They dissolve in water without changing charge.

• They attract copper ions from the solution.

How do dissolved silver ions (Ag+) in the solution become solid silver (Ag) on the copper ring?

• They lose electrons to the copper ring.

• They gain electrons from the copper ring.

• They react with copper atoms to form a silver-copper alloy.

• They spontaneously solidify on the copper surface.

Describe the overall transformation of silver during the electroplating process.

• Solid silver atoms become silver ions, which then become solid silver atoms again.

• Silver ions become solid silver atoms, which then become silver ions again.

• Solid silver atoms directly transform into solid copper atoms.

• Silver ions are permanently removed from the system.

What is the primary function of silver nitrate (AgNO3) when dissolved in water for electroplating?

• It provides the copper atoms for plating.

• It acts as an electrolyte, allowing electrical current to flow.

• It prevents the silver from dissolving into the solution.

• It increases the temperature of the solution to speed up the process.