Question

The symbol of the cell is _____.

Answer 1

It is easy to identify the symbol of a cell if you know the symbol of the battery. Battery is made by combining many cells together i.e. positive and negative terminals together. Thus, symbols of a single cell can be known.

Complete step-by-step answer :
The cell is a single power generating device which stores chemical energy and then converts it to electrical energy. It consists of two types of electrodes: Anode and Cathode. Anode means positive terminal and cathode means negative terminal of cell.
The cell has a chemical substance that reacts with the electrodes and produces electric current when needed. There are 4 types of cells such as: Wet cell, Dry cell, Reserve cell, Fuel cell. All the different types of cell are classified on the basis of electrodes used in cells. The power supply of this cell is for a short period. The symbol of cell is

Whereas the Battery is made by collection of many cells together. It is either rechargeable or non-rechargeable. As it is a group of cells, it is heavy in weight as compared to a single cell. The power supply of this cell is for a long duration. The symbol for battery is

Thus, we get the symbol for a single cell i.e.

Note :Do not mix up a single cell and battery as it uses are totally different. For example: cells are used in clocks, lamps which require less energy while batteries are used in inverters, generators etc. Some types of batteries are galvanic battery, avalanche battery, lithium-ion battery, etcetera. Also remember which terminal is called anode and cathode. Students make mistakes in identifying which is a positive terminal and which is negative terminal. So be careful while naming.