[tiny101]

This is the exact way the problem is in my lab manual:

Calculate the potential for:
Cu | CuSO4 (0.050M) || CuSO4 (1.0M) | Cu

I'm not sure if the || indicates that on either side is a half cell... or what else it may mean? Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[enahs]

The || indicates a salt bridge.
The | indicates a phase boundary.


http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c123/battery.html

[tiny101]

Thanks very much for the information.

However, in trying  to solve the problem I've encountered another problem:

to find the potential of this, I should use the equation: Ecell = E(cathode) - E(anode)? However, if I do that, I totally disregard the concentrations that are provided... which doesn't seem right. Also, I've tried the nernst equation -> E = E(initial) - (RT/nF) * ln([anode]/[cathode]), but I don't know E(initial). How else should I go about this?

[vhpk]

Thanks very much for the information.

However, in trying  to solve the problem I've encountered another problem:

to find the potential of this, I should use the equation: Ecell = E(cathode) - E(anode)? However, if I do that, I totally disregard the concentrations that are provided... which doesn't seem right. Also, I've tried the nernst equation -> E = E(initial) - (RT/nF) * ln([anode]/[cathode]), but I don't know E(initial). How else should I go about this?

E(inital) is the difference of 2 E₀ of cathode and anode:
E(initial) =  E₀(Cathode) - E₀(anode)
In this case, it's = 0 due to the same standard electrode potential