Question

What is the advantage of primary cell over secondary cell?
A.Its internal resistance is low
B.It is light and cheap
C.It can provide low/high currents
D.It is rechargeable

Answer 1

Hint: Both primary and secondary cells are built by the process called an electrochemical reaction. The difference between these two cells is that the primary cell can be used for only one time. But secondary cells can be used multiple by passing electric current to pass to it.

Complete step by step answer:
(i) Primary cell and secondary cells are made by the technique called an electrochemical reaction. The electrochemical process means while passing the current into the solution, its ions are got separated thereby leads to the flow of current.
(ii) But there is a difference between the two cells. Primary cells can be used for only one time. But it is really very cheap. So, its application is in many ways like the battery we use for clocks, watches, remote, etc.
(iii)In the case of secondary cells, it can be rechargeable. So, it can even have high currents too. To provide high currents, its resistance should be below. It is used on laptops, mobile phones, lamps, etc… It is expensive than primary cells as it has more advantages.
From these points, we can understand that the primary cell has one advantage over secondary cells. That is cheap and light.
So, the correct answer is “Option B”.

Additional Information:
(i)The primary cell has a simple design so its cost is cheap. And it looks simply, just a parallel connection of two rods inside the chemical solution.
(ii)Primary cells are known to discharge slowly too. We can compare the phone’s battery with the clock’s battery to understand it.
(iii)It has high internal resistance hence a large amount of charge cannot pass through it. But secondary cells can deliver high currents.
(iv)Some examples of primary cells are alkaline batteries and dry cells. Examples of secondary cells are lithium-ion batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries.


Note:
Primary cells are designed in such a way that it can be discarded after the first use. Primary cells have a low self-discharge rate than the older types of batteries.