Question

In an electrolytic cell, the flow of electrons is:

• A. from cathode to anode in the solution
• B. from cathode to anode through external supply
• C. from cathode to anode through internal supply
• D. from anode to cathode through internal supply

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

from cathode to anode through internal supply

• It is possible to construct a cell that does work on a chemical system by driving an electric current through the system. These cells are called electrolytic cells.Electrolytic cells, like galvanic cells, are composed of two half-cells--one is a reduction half-cell, the other is an oxidation half-cell. The direction of electron flow in electrolytic cells, however, may be reversed from the direction of spontaneous electron flow in galvanic cells, but the definition of both cathode and anode remain the same, where reduction takes place at the cathode and oxidation occurs at the anode. Because the directions of both half-reactions have been reversed, the sign, but not the magnitude, of the cell potential has been reversed.
  
• Internally the direction of flow of current is from anode to cathode and hence the electron flow is from cathode to anode.