Question

Ammonium chloride in dry cell is:
a.) a paste
b.) In liquid state
c.) In solid state
d.) In gaseous state

Answer 1

Ammonium chloride is used as an electrolyte in the dry cell. A dry cell is a battery which comprises zinc anode and carbon cathode with ammonium chloride being used as a semi-solid paste between both the electrodes.
It is used to facilitate ion mobility through the system to pass the required charges to the electrodes.

Complete step by step answer:
- The dry cell is used to store the chemical energy of the compounds which harness electricity due to flow of charges through the process of electrolysis. The dry cell can provide an output voltage of $1.5Volts$.
- Consisting of carbon-zinc electrodes with zinc being the anode and carbon being the cathode with a paste of ammonium chloride $\left( N{{H}_{4}}Cl \right)$ as an electrolyte for the whole system.
- It is used as a paste to facilitate ion mobility and hence passage of current and also to reduce the need of water usage in the cell.
- Reduction takes place at cathode and oxidation takes place at anode.
- The ammonium ions and chloride ions move to respective cathode and anode for the process of reduction and oxidation resulting in formation of ammonia gas at the cathode.
So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: The dry cell finds its use in a variety of applications such as used as a battery in remotes, any electronic components. They are primary cells and are more durable than other cells.
- But if kept placed in any device for a long time to exposure to heat or other tough conditions, it can damage the cell and it may explode due to the chemicals inside it.