Question

Fill in the blanks: In a battery, electrons flow through an electric circuit from the _____ to the _____.
A. anode, cathode
B. cathode, anode
C. positive end, negative end
D. anode, electrode
E. electrode, cathode

Answer 1

Hint
Cells and batteries contain three main components, namely: the cathode, the anode, and the electrolyte. The electrodes are responsible for the release and acceptance of electrons to and from (respectively) an external circuit.

Complete step by step answer
Electrons are subatomic particles that revolve around the nucleus of an atom. They are negatively charged and have very small mass as compared to the protons. They are also mainly responsible for the flow of electricity through a circuit.
In a battery, the anode is the negative electrode while the cathode is the positive electrode. We know by a rule of thumb that unlike charges attract and like charges repel. Hence, electrons being negatively charged are released to the external circuit through the anode, and they are attracted to the positive end of the battery that is the cathode.

Additional Information
When a battery is getting discharged or a load is applied across it to derive power, the anode becomes the positive terminal and the cathode the negative terminal. This flip of the terminals also leads to a flip in the flow of electrons, and they start moving from the cathode to the anode.

Note
Electricity or the conventional current flows from the positive terminal to the negative terminal, but electrons travel the opposite. This is an important point to remember as the two terms are easily confused. To remember the charge of anode and cathode, a simple anecdote is to relate ‘negative’ with ‘an-ode’.