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Mistake Master · AP Chemistry · Unit 9 · Step-Through Animation

Electrons on the Wire, Ions in the Bridge

You'll learnwhat actually moves in an electrochemical cell, how to name the two electrodes, and what changes when a battery is wired in.

A cell has two conductors and they carry different things: the wire carries electrons and the salt bridge carries ions. Nearly every mistake in electrochemistry starts by letting one of those wander into the other path. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · AN OX / RED CAT · WIRE = e⁻ · BRIDGE = IONS · v2

the wire carries electrons · the bridge carries ions · they never cross
Before you start
What you're looking at
A two-beaker cell: zinc on the left, copper on the right, a wire over the top and a bridge underneath.
The question
Something has to move for a current to flow. What moves, and along which path?
Step 1 / 12