The Electrolytic Cell
Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 0620 · Syllabus 4.1.1 & 4.1.2
🕺 The Dance Floor Breakup
Imagine a nightclub packed with ionic couples (Na⁺ with Cl⁻, glued together). Then the Bouncer (electricity) walks in. He grabs every positive ion and drags it to one side of the room, and every negative ion to the other. The couple is forced to break up — that's electrolysis.
🧠 PANIC Mnemonic
⚗️ The Apparatus
🔒 Solid Salt
Ions fixed in lattice. No conduction.
🔥 Molten
Lattice broken. Ions mobile!
💧 Aqueous
Dissolved. Ions mobile!
🏷 Label the Apparatus
Drag a label to the correct position. Watch out — PANIC will save you!
📖 Definition Builder
Click the pieces in order to build the Cambridge definition of Electrolysis.
⚠️ Examiner's Traps
✗ Don't say 'the ions move freely'
✓ Say: 'the ions are mobile' — Cambridge mark schemes demand precision!
✗ Don't say 'decomposed by electricity'
✓ Say: 'decomposed by the passage of an electric current'
✗ Oxidation/Reduction at electrodes
✓ Oxidation at ANODE (A-N-Oxide!). Reduction at CATHODE. Use OIL RIG.
✗ Solid ionic compounds
✓ Solids do NOT conduct — ions are fixed in lattice positions. Molten/aqueous ONLY.
📋 Cambridge Keyword Registry
Electrolysis
Decomposition of ionic compound by electric current
Electrolyte
The molten or aqueous ionic substance
Anode (+)
Positive electrode. Anions discharged. OXIDATION.
Cathode (−)
Negative electrode. Cations discharged. REDUCTION.
Mobile ions
Free-moving ions that carry charge through electrolyte
Discharge
Ions lose/gain electrons at electrode → become atoms/molecules
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