Q.The common dry cell (Leclanche cell) used in torches has a zinc container as one electrode and a carbon rod surrounded by a paste of $\text{MnO}_2$ and $\text{NH}_4\text{Cl}$ as the other. Write the reaction occurring at the zinc electrode and identify whether it is the anode or the cathode. State the approximate EMF delivered by a fresh dry cell.

[!TLDR] The zinc container is oxidized, so it is the anode; a fresh dry cell delivers about $1.5\ \text{V}$. [!ANSWER] Zinc electrode reaction: $\text{Zn}(s) \to \te …

In the Leclanche dry cell, the outer zinc container serves both as the cell's casing and as one of its two electrodes. During discharge, zinc metal is oxidized, losing electrons to the external circuit: $\text{Zn}(s) \to \text{Zn}^{2+}(aq) + 2e^{-}$. Since oxidation always occurs at the anode (by definition, in any electrochemical cell), the zinc container is the anode, and it is the negative terminal of the cell. The electrons released travel through the external circuit (e.g. through a torch bulb) to the central carbon rod, where they are consumed in the reduction of $\text{MnO}_2$ in the surrounding moist paste (the cathode reaction, involving $\text{NH}_4^+$ and $\text{MnO}_2$). A fresh dry cell of this design delivers an EMF of approximately $1.5\ \text{V}$, though t …

Recall that oxidation occurs at the anode by definition, identify the zinc half-reaction as oxidation, and recall the …

Assuming the container electrode (zinc) must be the cathode simply because it is the 'outer'/'main' visible part of the cell — electrode role is determined strictly by w …