Importance of Electrochemical Series

Importance of Electrochemical Series A series in which the reduction electrode potentials of various electrodes have been arranged in the increasing order (downwards) is called Electrochemical Series . The standard reduction potential of hydrogen is zero.The electrodes above hydrogen have negative reduction potential while those place below it have positive reduction potential and vice-versa. To understand the importance and application of Electrochemical series we have to study about Oxidation,Reduction and Standard Reduction Potential. What is Electrochemistry? Electrochemistry is the branch of chemistry which deals with the study of the chemical changes which occur on passing electric current into certain chemical systems and also with the generation of electricity by carrying chemical reactions which are redox reactions in nature. And Redox reactions are those reactions in which both oxidation and reduction taking place. Electronic Concept of Oxidation and Reduction According to the electronic concept, oxidation may be defined as the process in which an atom or ion loses one or more electrons. The loss of electrons is also called de-electronation. As a result, there is increase in positive valency or decrease in negative valency of the species. The species which lose electrons during oxidation are called Reducing agents. According to the electronic concept, reduction may be defined as the process in which an atom or ion gains one or more electrons. The gain of electrons is also called electronation. As a result, there is increase in negative valency or decrease in positive valency of the species. The species which gain electrons during reduction are called Oxidising agents. Electrode Potential It is the potential difference between the electrode and its ions in solution. The value of Electrode potential depends upon: (i) Nature of the metal (ii) Concentration of the ions in solution. (iii) Temperature. Types of Electrode Potential Oxidation Potential:- It is the tendency of the electrode to lose electrons and as a result it gets oxidized. Reduction Potential:- It is the tendency of the electrode to accept electrons and as a result,it gets reduced. Measurement of Standard Electrode Potential (Eo):- The standard electrode potential(electron releasing or electron accepting tendency) of an electrode in contact with its electrolyte in a half cell cannot be measured experimentally due to the following reasons:- A half cell whether oxidation or reduction half cell cannot work of its own and can work only when connected to the other half cell. The electron realeasing or accepting tendency of an electrode is only relative tendency and not absolute tendency. Thus we cannot determine the absolute standard electrode potential of an electrode.To solve the problem,a reference electrode is needed and an arbitrary electrode potential must be assigned to it.The commonly used reference electrode is standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) also called normal hydrogen electrode(NHE) and its standard electrode potential (oxidation as well as reduction) is taken as zero. We have stated that a standard hydrogen electrode acts as the reference electrode and it helps in measuring the standard electrode potential of an electrode.An electrochemical cell is set up in which the metal electrode under consideration is kept in one half cell and the standard hydrogen electrode acts as the other half cell. The potential difference developed as a result of the redox reaction is measured with the help of high resistance voltmeter(or beter by potentiometer). Since the electrode potential of the hydrogen electrode under standard conditions is taken zero, the reading of the voltmeter will therefore,give the  standard electrode potential of the electrode under consideration. The deflection of the voltmeter in the cell circuit represents the flow of current. The flow of current is towards opposite side.If it is towards the metal electrode, this means that the flow of electrons is towards the standard hydrogen electrode. Therefore, metal electrode will act as anode and standard hydrogen electrode as cathode. In case, the deflection is towards the hydrogen electrode, this means that the flow of electrons is from hydrogen electrode towards the metal electrode. In such a case, hydrogen electrode will act as anode and the metal electrode as the cathode. In General, Eo cell = Eo cathode Eoanode Where Eo cell value represents the standard reduction potential of the electrode. Electrochemical Series or EMF Series :- The standard electrode potential (Eo cell) of a large number of electrodes are determined with respect to the standard hydrogen electrode acting as a reference electrode. The standard reduction potential of hydrogen is zero. The electrodes above hydrogen have negative reduction potential while those place below it have positive reduction potential and vice-versa. They are arranged in decreasing strength of reducing agent to form a series known as Electrochemical Series. Application of Electrochemical Series:- To predict the relative oxidizing and reducing powers:- The electrochemical series helps to pick out substances that are good oxidizing agents and those which are good reducing agents.In an electrochemical series the species which are placed above hydrogen are more difficult to be reduced and their standard reduction potential values are negative. The Li : Li+ (aq) electrode has the least Eo value and therefore, it is reduced with more difficulty. Therefore, Li+ cannot accept electrons easily and so loses electrons to behave as a reducing agent. Li is the strongest reducing agent. The species which are easily reduced than hydrogen are palced below it in electrochemical series and their Eo value are positive. The F2 : 2F-(aq) electrode has the highest Eo value and therefore, F2 has the greatest tendency to get reduced,it is consequently the strongest oxidizing agent. In general, oxidizing agents have + Eo values. Higher the positive value, stronger will be the oxidizing agent and reducing agents have -Eo values, higher the negative value, stronger will be the reducing agent. For Example: Increasing order of reducing power of metal is Ag+/Ag(+0.80V) Calculation of the EMF of the Cell The following steps determine the reduction potential of the cathode and anode: Step I The two half-cell reactions are written in such a way that the reaction taking place at the left hand electrode is written as an oxidation reaction and that taking place at the right electrode is written as reduction reaction. Step II The number of electrons in the two equations are made equal by multiplying one of the equations if necessary by a suitable number. However, electrode potential values (E °) are not multiplied. Step III The electrode potentials of both the electrodes are taken to be reduction potentials and so the EMF of the cell is equal to the difference between the standard potential of the right hand side and the left hand side electrode. Eo cell = Eo R EoL Step IV If the EMF of the cell is +ve, the reaction is feasible in the given direction and the cell is correctly represented, i.e., oxidation occurs at left electrode (anode) and reduction occurs at the right electrode (cathode). If it is -ve, the cell reaction is not feasible in the given direction and the cell is wrongly represented. Thus, to get positive value for the EMF the electrodes must be reversed. To predict whether a metal will react with acids to give H2 gas:- Metals above hydrogen in Electrochemical series have great tendency for oxidation,so they displace hydrogen from acids.All metals having negative electrode potentials (negative E ° values) show greater tendency of losing electrons as compared to hydrogen. So, when such a metal is placed in an acid solution, the metal gets oxidized, and H+ (hydrogen) ions get reduced to form hydrogen gas. Thus, the metals having negative E ° values liberate hydrogen from acids. metal having negative E ° value For example, metals such as Mg (E (Mg2+ Mg) = 2.37 V), Zn (E (Zn2+ Zn) = 0.76 V), Iron (E (Fe2+ Fe) = 0.44 V) etc., can displace hydrogen from acids such as HCl and HSO4. But metals such as Copper, (E (Cu2+ Cu) = + 0.34V), silver (E (Ag+ Ag) = + 0.80V) and gold (E (Au3+ Au) = +1.42 V) cannot displace hydrogen from acids because of their positive reduction potential value. To predict the Feasibility of Redox Reaction:- From the E ° values of the two electrodes one can find out whether a given redox reaction is feasible or not. A redox reaction is feasible only if the species which has higher potential is reduced i.e., accepts the electrons and the species which has lower reduction potential is oxidized i.e., loses electrons. The electrochemical series gives the increasing order of electrode potentials (reduction) of different electrodes on moving down the table. This means that the species, which accept the electrons (reduced) must be lower in the electrochemical series as compared to the other which is to lose electrons. (oxidized). For example, From the electrochemical series E ° value of Cu = +0.34 V and that of Ag = +0.80 V since the reduction potential of Ag is more than that of Cu, this means that silver has greater tendency to get reduced in comparison to copper. Thus, the reaction  occurs more readily than the reaction The reduction potential of copper is less than that of Ag, this means that copper will be oxidized or will go into solution as ions in comparison to Ag. Thus, the reaction,  occurs more readily than Therefore, silver will be reduced and copper will be oxidized and the above reaction is not feasible. Rather the reverse reaction,  can occur. Thus a metal will displace, any other metal, which occurs below it in the electrochemical series from its salt solution. When a metal having lower E ° value is placed in a solution, containing ions of another metal having higher E ° value, then the metal having lower E ° value gets dissolved and the ions of the metal having higher E ° value get precipitated. Problems Q:- Write the half-cell reaction and the overall cell reaction for the electrochemical cell: Calculate the standard emf for the cell if standard electrode potentials (reduction) Pb2+ Pb and Zn2+ Zn electrodes are -0.126V and -0.763 V respectively. Solution Zn electrode acts as anode while Pb electrode acts as cathode and, therefore oxidation occurs at zinc electrode and reduction occurs at lead electrode. The half cell reactions are: Q:- Iodine (I2) and bromine (Br2) are added to a solution containing iodide (I-) and bromide (Br-) ions. What reaction would occur if the concentration of each species is 1 M? The electrode potentials for the reactions are: Solution Since the reduction potential of Br2 is more than that of I2, it means that bromine can be readily reduced. Therefore, I- will be oxidized to I2 and this reaction should be written as oxidation. Therefore, the following reactions will occur: Since for the feasibility of the reaction, the emf should be +ve, and to get + ve value for the cell reaction, subtract the equation representing lower value of E ° from the equation representing the higher value of E °. Q:-. What will be the spontaneous reaction between the following half-cell reactions? Calculate Ecell. Solution Since the reduction potential of reaction (ii) is more than that of reaction (i); reaction (ii) will occur as reduction. Therefore, reaction (i) should be written as oxidation. To obtain the net reaction, we multiply the reactions by appropriate coefficients so that electrons get cancelled. Ecell = Esubstance reduced Esubstance oxidized = 1.28 (- 0.74) = 2.02V To predict the spontaneity of any redox reaction:- For any spontaneous reaction (deltaG) should be negative.Since deltaG = -nFE cell Hence E cell should be positive for spontaneous reaction. E cell is the emf of the cell and is calculated from the standard redox potentials by using the reaction. E cell = Ecathode Eanode If E cell is positive, the cell reaction is spontaneous, otherwise not. To predict the Replacement tendency :- The relative ease with which the various species of metals and ions may be oxidized or reduced is indicated by the reduction potential values. The metals with lower reduction potential are not reduced easily but are easily oxidized to their ions losing electrons. These electrons would reduce the other metals having higher reduction potentials. In other words, a metal having smaller reduction potential can displace metals having larger reduction potentials from the solution of their salt.For example, copper lies above silver in the electrochemical series, therefore, if copper metal is added to AgNO3 solution, silver is displaced from the solution. In general a metal occupying higher position in the series can displace the metals lying below it from the solutions of their salts and so are more reactive in displacing the other metals. Thus, Li is the most electropositive element in solutions and fluorine is the most electronegative element. To predict the correct Metallurgical Methods :- Eo values of Cu,H2O and Al are +0.34V,-0.83V and -1.66V.It means Cu gets more easily reduced than water and water gets more easily reduced than aluminium.Hence copper can be produced by the electrolysis of aqueous copper sulphate but not aluminium.this is due to the fact that when Al3+(aq) is electrolysed,the H2O will be electrolysed but not Al3+(aq). For calculation of Equilibrium Constant :- Therefore measurement of E o enables the determination of the equilibrium constant for the electrode reaction.

Leaving My Home :: Personal Narrative Traveling Essays

Leaving My Home We finally found gate C-4 after what seemed like an interminably long time. I rejoiced to see the rows of plush cushioned chairs. My aching legs were also thankful after wandering the long cramped halls of O'Hare's bustling airport. Although the halls exuded spaciousness, the throngs of impatient people thwarted any chance for a leisurely stroll. However, I could not concentrate on this scene of busy travelers and cramped corridors. For the airport and my trip to Argentina seemed surreal to me as I dreamed of my dog Max and my bedroom and how long it would be until I saw them again. This after all was just a stop on a busy road to my future. Of all the rows of chairs, we staked out five that were closest to the boarding doors. My parents sat across from me, and observed me like birds that watch their fledgling take its first flight. My sisters Rebecca and Elizabeth sat on either side of me, both filled with the anxious thoughts of a year without a brother and friend. Then it was time for us to wait. At first the comfort of sitting in the cushioned chairs and staring out the large glass windows was enough. I saw the planes make their exits from the sky to come gliding onto the runway. Although made of metal those birds land gracefully. A slight squall from the tires, a bit of smoke, but all in one smooth slip from the sky to skating across the open pavement. They taxi their ways along the integral paths of painted yellow lines. Each one was like an ant moving purposely about its assignment without disturbing its fellow workers. The men and women on the ground crew carefully orchestrated it all with orange batons and walkie-talkies, making sure there is no confusion. The plane returns to its port like a seaman after a long voyage. Their thoughts are only that it's good to be home. The scene soon became monotonous. The planes always nearly landed on the tail of the one just departed. They turned with the same motions following the same paths to yet another loading dock. Even the questions that quarry an observer ran stagnant. Where were all those planes going? It became apparent that they are all on journeys without any final destination. They only hope to get in as many miles as is possible in their lifetimes.

The Global Village and the New Economy Essay -- Exploratory Essays Res

The Global Village and the New Economy The New Economy falls into the latter part of the information age in the evolution of society. It has many characteristics. It is the age of the global village, the idea that the whole world is unified as one because of the speed in which information is processed from one end to the other. The idea of personalization of technology is also a characteristic of the New Economy, which allows people to modify technology and make it unique to each individual. In the new economy, individuals are face with a new treat, less is more. (Straubhaar,289) The size of technology has decreased but the performance of this new technology has increased. These innovations have become an important factor to find the optimal method of achieving an efficient technology. "(The New Economy is a) world in which rapid change is a constant. A world at least as different from what came before it as the industrial age was from its agricultural predecessor. A world so different its emergence can only be described as a revolution." (Encyclopedia). THE COMPUTER The modification of society to enter the New Economy has been done using the computer. The computer has penetrated almost every aspect of technology in existence. It is common to find personal computers inside homes. The computer is also used explicitly in the advertising industry, the telephone networking industry, and the filmmaking industry. The creation and growth of the New Economy that we live in today can be attributed to the computer. The personal computer has seen massive growth. It has evolved from being an intimidating machine to an essential in more that 500 million households worldwide.(Gates). The size of the computer has decreased to we... ...ovember 21st, 2002. COSTELLS, Manual. The Rise of the Network Society(2nd Edition). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. "Encyclopedia of the New Economy", in Wired Digital Inc. Available online at: , consulted on November 19th, 2002. GATES, Bill. "The PC: 20 Years Young ", in Microsoft-Press Pass, April 12, 2001. Available online at: , consulted on November 16th, 2002. SANDERS, Robert. "SETI@home, UC Berkeley's search for extraterrestrial life, celebrates first anniversary, is named finalist in Computerworld Smithsonian Awards", in UC Berkeley. Available online at: , consulted on November 21st, 2002. STRAUBHAAR, Joseph and Robert LAROSE. Media Now. Belmont: Wadsworth Group, 2002.

The Dating Game

Gwendolyn ‘Wendy’ Stokes Professor Josh McCall Intermediate Composition September 21, 2011 The Dating Game: Spectator or Participant Finding a good man is like trying to nail jelly to a tree. Some people say that all the good ones are either married or gay. As a single heterosexual woman that has been in the dating scene, I must say that statement is not far from the truth. The hunt for Mr. Right is not for the feeble hearted woman. The learning curve on dating has been interesting to say the least.A few months ago, I was approached by a guy that seemed nice enough. We met at a local sports bar. We had mutual friends and he was interested, which was more than I could say for the rest of the male population. He asked if I was on Facebook. As our initial conversation progressed, I realized Facebook was his correspondence of choice. What happened to the old fashion line of â€Å"Can I have your number? † Yet, I decided to trudge forward and â€Å"go with it. † After a few Facebook chats, I agreed to let him visit me at home. He came over and flopped down on my couch.It was awkward but I was determined to find something we had in common. The conversations led to our high school days. As he told story after story, it came to me that he was nowhere near the age I had originally thought. I interrupted him just to ask, â€Å"Exactly what year did you graduate? † His response of â€Å"2001† made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I had been a mother for two years when he was tossing his high school graduation cap in the air. Needless to say, I politely ended his visit with no goodnight kiss included.Another recent dating encounter was the dreaded blind date. As I drove to the agreed upon meeting place all I could think was â€Å"Why do I get myself into these situations? † Yet, the guy I met was really nice. He was extremely attractive and had a great personality. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the conversat ion flowed from subject to subject without any awkwardness that I had previously experienced. As the gathering was breaking up, he asked if he could have my telephone number and when would be a good time to call.Of course, I gave him my number and tried not sound eager as I said, â€Å"Anytime would be fine. † After he left, I overheard a conversation regarding his astonishingly recent separation from his wife. He was married. My newly elated attitude towards dating was quickly deflated. Transitioning from the â€Å"in a relationship† world into the â€Å"unattached† world is not as transparent as I once thought. I have learned that men in my dating pool tend to be scorned by women from their previous relationships.Those scorned men are almost always cautious to the point of being noncommittal. I have never enjoyed cleaning especially a mess created by someone else. When it comes to love, I just don’t want to work quite that hard. After all, love is suppo sed to be easy in the beginning, isn’t it? Being single is hard but being with the wrong man is even harder. I have a tendency to believe that Mr. Right will come along when I am least expecting it and then, we can just keep the jelly in the fridge.

The History of Antigua

The history of Antigua Antigua is an island where people wake up early to go to work or to school but most of the people who live there go to the market on Market Street. The name of Antigua and Barbuda’s capital is St. Johns. The language that is spoken in Antigua and Barbuda is English. The date that this country came into existence was November 1, 1981. The notable people who live in Antigua are Eric Clapton who is a guitar player, Giorgio Armani, and Ken Follett.The major landforms that are in Antigua and Barbuda are the Boom Point, the Devils Bridge and Mount Obama. There are also some major cities in Antigua such as Cedar Grove, Old Road, and Boland. The culture around Antigua is incredible. The clothes that the citizens wear have a condition to the tropical living. There are a lot of Holidays in Antigua that New Jersey doesn’t have like Good Friday, Carnival Monday, National Heroes day, and Whit.Antigua sells a lot of different kinds of foods at the market as cor n, chilies, guava, and mangos. The music in Antigua is a dabble of everything from reggae, to soca to zouk; styles are easily appreciated whether at a barbeque or playing online bingo. The kinds of religions that are in Antigua are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews. The government uses the Parliamentary System. Antigua’s population is at 89,612 and counting.The native animals that live in Antigua are the Antiguan Racer, Redonda Anole, Antiguan Ground Lizard, and the Barbuda Warbler. The name of the flag is Antigua and Barbuda. If you ever visit Antigua here are some travel tips. First, the taxes are the same as in the United States. There is 10-15% depending on the service. Second, the electricity, part of the island is 110 volts and the remainder is 220 volts. Most of the hotels have both voltages available. This has been the research of Antigua and Barbuda. Research Paper

Steinbeck Model of “Paradox and Dream: Personal Essay

Victims of Love One of the generalities most often noted about Victims of Love is that we are impatient, incomplete, and unsatisfied once we discover what love is and that is possible for anyone to have. We complain when we want it, yet take it for granted when it’s ours. We say we cannot stand to live with our lovers, yet we proclaim it is unbearable to live without them. We claim to be strong and fearless, but in the face of love we fall weak to our knees with open arms reaching for all it has to offer. Love is endless, limitless, and powerful beyond measure.It has the ability to give you the best feeling no one other thing can, yet it has the power to hurt you beyond compare to anything else. We claim love is blinding to those lucky enough to have it, but are we really blind? Can we really not see beyond love’s overwhelming nature, or do we choose to not see the bad because its potential to be such a wonderful thing outweighs its negative qualities and its faults? On ce we fall victim to love and all it’s worth, an untamed fire is lit beneath the deepest layer of our hearts, burning brightly until greeted by the only conquerer of love- death.As we as victims of love believe, when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. We, as greedy, impatient people chase after love when we want it, yet we fail to realize we don’t find love, love finds us. We can choose who we hate, but we cannot control who we love. We love those who hurt us, but hurt those who love us. Victims of Love want to grasp onto love once they find it and never let it go, yet we learn that if you love someone, you have to set them free. We long to always be with those we love yet we are blind to see that distance makes the heart grow fonder.Because of this, we are left asking ‘what? ’. What is so addicting about love? Do we love imperfection, love to feel wanted, love the vision of love that ends with a happily ever after? I t is often portrayed that you cannot love what you do not know, yet, according to Paul Valery, it would be impossible to love anything or anyone completely because love is directed towards what lies hidden in its presence. We, as living paradoxes, fear the unknown, yet we have a passion and curiosity to know what lies beyond our existing knowledge.We search for our perfect vision of love, and we are disappointed with our results. We fail to see that true love doesn’t come by finding a perfect person, but by finding an imperfect person and learning to love them perfectly. We question to why sometimes love fails, but we make no effort to see it was our fault because we have failed to love. We are slaves to pleasure and pain once we have it, and use love as a motivation to find it. We try to make sense of love and the feelings that overcome us and thus become incapable of feeling it.We foolishly live a life for love instead of a having a life with love. When we have love, we fee l we do not need anything else and when we do not have it, we feel nothing else we have really matters. To have love is to have faith; those with little faith have little love and those with a lot of faith have a lot of love. We search for love with our thoughts and eyes and forget that love lies beyond what we see and think; it exists where we feel, it exists in our hearts. Love is a strange thing; it requires no inquisition, just acceptance.Love is an inevitable force of nature. We can choose to avoid it or choose to surrender to it, either way, it strikes back like lightening, unpredictable and irrefutable. Love does not come in favor of our own stipulations and conditions, hut it comes independently of our desires and wishes as does the moon, stars, and darkness of night with no regards to the day. Just as we may obtain the ability to control the time of night and day, we risk damaging a balance of laws without fully knowing the consequences of our intentions.In the same way, we practice elements of love, such as marriage or intercourse, yet we are left dismayed and puzzled, angered and suffering, questioning as to if our reason behind our insensible actions was truly love after all. We dream of a love inexplicable beyond words-one that proves without it, we are merely individuals limited to our ability of what we can do, but with it the boundaries are limitless with possibility at its fingertips. Our dream lies beyond not only understanding what love is, but also learning the ecret to keep its burning flame lit with passion and all the qualities that make for a perfect, successful expression of all that love is. We say we wish for a love without any pain, but how can we measure the power and endurance of that love if it only endures the easy road of life? What we truly, honestly long for is a love that shows its strength, surpassing even the most difficult obstacles and the harshest pain and coming out victorious, proving to us that in the end, love does conquer all.

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006 Essay

Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have a long history of intense competition since 1950. Besides the CSD (carbonated soft drink) consumption rise, it brought both Coke and Pepsi enjoyed significant revenue growth. In 2004, CSD has 52.3% of total US Liquid Consumption. Coke and Pepsi had 22.1% and 14.4% in Net profit/sales respectively. There are four major participants involved in the production and distribution of CSDs: 1. Concentrate Producers (Coke, Pepsi, and others)). They blended raw material ingredients, packaged the mixture, and shipped to the bottlers. They have large number of employees located in bottler site to support sales efforts, set standards, and suggest operational improvements. They negotiated with the bottlers’ suppliers to achieve reliable supply, fast delivery, and low prices. 2. Bottlers (CCE, PBG, and others). They purchased concentrate, added carbonated water and sweetener, bottled or canned the product, and delivered it to customers. The number of bottlers had fallen from more than 2000 in 1970 to fewer than 300 in 2004, especially after Coke and Pepsi did bottler consolidation and spin-off as part of plan to refranchise bottling operation. Coke built Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE) and Pepsi formed Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) as their main bottlers. 3. Retail Channels. They consist of supermarket (32.9%), fountain machines (23.4%), vending machines (14.5%), mass merchandisers (11.8%), convenience stores and gas stations (7.9%), and others (9.5%). Pepsi focused on sales through retail outlets, and Coke dominated fountain sales. Both Coke and Pepsi entered fast-food restaurant business in order to have exclusive sales territory on the restaurant chains. 4. Suppliers. Concentrate producers needs caramel coloring, phosphoric/citric acid, natural flavors, and caffeine from suppliers. Bottlers also need to purchase packaging (cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles), and sweeteners. Coke and Pepsi establish stable long-term relationships with their suppliers and their bottlers’ suppliers. Chronology of the Cola Wars: * 1950s: Pepsi introduced â€Å"Beat Coke† motto. Pepsi introduced 26-ounce bottle, targeting family consumption. Coke stayed with its 6.5-ounce bottle. * 1960s: Pepsi launched new slogan, â€Å"Pepsi Generation†. By focusing on the younger population Pepsi narrowed Coke’s lead to a 2-to-1 margin. Pepsi had larger and more modern bottling facilities. Both groups started adding new soft drink brands. * 1970s: Pepsi Challenge: Starting in Texas, Pepsi’s bottlers had public blind taste tests to prove that Pepsi tasted better. This marking stunt increased sales significantly. Pepsi gained a 1.4 points lead in food store leads. Coke countered with rebates and renegotiations with franchise bottlers. Coke response by cutting costs (used corn syrup instead of sugar), doubling advertising spending, and selling off most non-CSD business. Diet Coke was introduced to become a phenomenal success. Coke tried to be innovative by changing its formula, but that failed miserably. Coke introduced 11 new products. Pepsi introduced 13 new products. Pepsi emulated most of Coke’s strategic moves. * 1980s: Coke did refranchising bottling operation and created independent bottling subsidiary, Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE). Pepsi implemented similar anchor bottler model by forming its bottler, Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG). * 1990s: Soft drink industry faced new challenge on stagnant demand. * 2000s: Although Coke and Pepsi encountered obstacle in international operations, including antitrust regulation, price controls, advertising restrictions, foreign exchange control, lack of infrastructure, cultural differences, political instability and local competition, Coke enjoyed a world market share of 51.4% and Pepsi 21.8%. Coke and Pepsi have been very successful and profitable due to their dominance in the soft drink market. In 2004, the Herfindahl Index (HHI) for market concentration ratio is 0.3130. H = (Coke)2 + (Pepsi)2 + (Cadbury)2 + (Cott)2 + (Others)2 = (.431)2 + (.317)2 + (.145)2 + (.55)2 + (.52)2 = 0.3130 This index indicates high concentration with one or two strong players only. Soft drink industry has been so profitable because Americans drink more soda than other beverage. Head-to-head competition between both Coke and Pepsi reinforce brand recognition of each other. Coke and Pepsi devoted spending on marketing, advertisement, innovation, and market expansion. It is a unique industry where Concentrate Producers and Bottlers are two different entities. Concentrate manufacturing process involved little capital investment in machinery, overhead, and labor. Other significant costs were for advertising, promotion, market research, and bottler relations. One plant could serve entire United States. In the other side, the bottling process was capital-intensive and involved high-speed production line. Bottlers also invested in trucks and distribution networks. Bottlers handled merchandising. Bottler’s could also work with other non-cola brands. From the financial data of Coke, Pepsi, CCE, and PBG, concentrate producers are far more profitable than their bottlers. The colossal war between Coke and Pepsi really affected the soft drink industry. It shaped the industry into what it is now. The fact that those two major players has involved in the competition since the very beginning (1950s) is the advantage for them to keep dominating the market and gain brand popularity in US market and international market. Since 1990s, Coke and Pepsi faced new challenge on flattening demand, banned the sales in some US schools, and obstacles in their international operations (regulatory challenges, cultural and any existing competition). Popularity of non-carbonated beverages has also increased. But Coke can Pepsi can sustain their profits in the industry because they are still dominant (no new threats from new competition, no new significant competitors), they have been in the industry long enough to place their brand recognized globally (easy to diversify new product by leveraging their brand), globalization has opened opportunity for them to expand their international market (especially in emerging economies), potential to growth is still high in the emerging market (consumption is still low), and they have diversified into non-carbonated drinks as well as â€Å"diet† drinks (less sugar or zero sugar beverages). In my opinion, Coke and Pepsi need to focus on emerging international market and focus on the innovation to create new products as alternative (non-carbonated, diet, and healthier).