lectrochemistry: Voltaic Cells
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Goal: to describe the construction and operation of a voltaic cell
Working Definitions
Electrical current is the movement of charged
particles, either electrons or ions, through a conductor.
A voltaic cell is an electrochemical cell
that uses a chemical reaction to produce electrical energy. The important
parts of a voltaic cell:
- The anode is an electrode where oxidation occurs.
- The cathode is an electrode where reduction occurs.
- A salt bridge is a chamber of electrolytes necessary to complete the circuit in a voltaic cell.
- The oxidation and reduction reactions are separated into compartments called half-cells.
- The external circuit is used to conduct the flow of electrons between the electrodes of the voltaic cell and usually includes a load.
- The load is the part of the circuit which utilizes the flow of electrons to perform some function.
| Note: A light bulb is a example of a simple load where current (a flow of electrons) is used to resistively heat a filament of metal, usually tungsten, until it radiates energy in the form of visible light. |
Before moving to the next page you should be able to recognize the parts of a simple voltaic cell.
Voltaic Cells 
