ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSES
The standard electrode potentials are very important and we can extract a lot of useful information from them. If the standard electrode potential of an electrode is greater than zero then its reduced form is more stable compared to hydrogen gas. Similarly, if the standard electrode potential is negative then hydrogen gas is more stable than the reduced form of the species. Electrochemical cells are extensively used for determining the pH of solutions, solubility product, equilibrium constant, thermodynamic properties and for potentiometric titrations. The potential of individual half-cell cannot be measured. We can measure only the difference between the two half-cell potentials that gives the emf of the cell. If we arbitrarily choose the potential of one electrode (half-cell) then that of the other can be determined with respect to this. According to convention, a half-cell called the Standard Hydrogen Electrode (SHE) is assigned a zero potential at all temperatures corresponding to the reaction \( \mathrm{H^{+}_{(aq)}+e^{-}\rightarrow \frac{1}{2}H_2(g)} \)
Choose the correct concentration at which the reduced and oxidised forms of hydrogen respectively are maintained in the reference electrode.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 1 bar; 1 M
The standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) is the reference half-cell whose potential is taken as zero at all temperatures:
\( \displaystyle \ce{Pt(s)}\,|\,\ce{H2(g)}\ (1\ \text{bar})\,|\,\ce{H^+(aq)}\ (1\ \text{M}) \)
\( \displaystyle \ce{H^+(aq) + e^-} \rightarrow \frac{1}{2}\ce{H2(g)} \)
So, in the order asked (reduced form; oxidised form), the answer is 1 bar; 1 M.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) 1M; 1M — Incorrect. \( \ce{H2} \) is a gas, so its standard state is given by pressure (1 bar), not by molar concentration.
Option (3) 0.5 bar; 1 M — Incorrect. The 1/2 in 1/2 \( \ce{H2} \) is only the coefficient in the equation; the gas is still kept at 1 bar.
Option (4) 1M; 2 bar — Incorrect. The units are the wrong way round for the two forms, and 2 bar is not the standard pressure.
NCERT (2026-27 edition):
Measurement of Electrode Potential – …

