Meaning & use
galvanic cell
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnicalchemistry
A device in which a chemical reaction between two different metals produces an electric current.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a galvanic cell' or 'galvanic cells' when talking about more than one.
Patterns
- a galvanic cell produces something
- connect a galvanic cell to something
- the voltage of a galvanic cell
In the experiment, a galvanic cell made from zinc and copper lit a small bulb.
Each galvanic cell in the battery has two electrodes dipped in a conducting solution.
The students measured how the voltage of a galvanic cell changes with the metals used.
nouncountabletechnicalchemistry
A single unit of this kind, especially one used in teaching or in a laboratory rather than as a commercial battery.
Grammar: Often used with 'a' when you mean one unit: 'build a galvanic cell'.
Patterns
- build a galvanic cell
- a simple galvanic cell
The teacher asked us to build a simple galvanic cell with a lemon, a nail, and a coin.
A single galvanic cell gives only a small voltage, so several are joined in series.
Word forms
| plural | galvanic cells |
|---|
Common combinations
- a galvanic cell produces electricity
- A galvanic cell produces electricity from a chemical reaction.
- build a galvanic cell
- We had to build a galvanic cell for the science fair.
- the voltage of a galvanic cell
- The voltage of a galvanic cell depends on which metals are used.
- a simple galvanic cell
- A simple galvanic cell can be made with two metal strips and a salty liquid.
- two half-cells in a galvanic cell
- A galvanic cell contains two half-cells joined by a salt bridge.
Synonyms and how they differ
- voltaic cell
- The older name for the same device; it appears in older textbooks but means exactly the same thing.
- electrochemical cell
- A wider term that covers both cells that make electricity and cells that use electricity, so it is not always interchangeable.
- battery
- The everyday word, but a battery is usually several cells joined together, so it is less precise in a science context.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: galvanic cell or electrolytic cell? galvanic cell or fuel cell?
galvanic cell vs electrolytic cell
An electrolytic cell uses electricity to drive a chemical change, while a galvanic cell does the opposite and makes electricity from a chemical change.
galvanic cell vs fuel cell
A fuel cell also makes electricity, but it uses a fuel such as hydrogen that is constantly supplied, not two metal electrodes that slowly get used up.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'galvanic cell' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A galvanic cell is a scientific device that produces electricity from a chemical reaction, so option 1 is right. Option 0 is wrong because a phone contains a battery that is recharged, not a galvanic cell described that way; option 2 confuses it with a refrigerator; option 3 confuses it with 'protagonist'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “galvanic cell”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.