What is a battery?

What is a battery?

• A. A single cell that stores chemical energy.
• B. A capacitor acting as a temporary energy store.
• C. A combination of two or more cells in series that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
• D. A device that increases voltage.

Answer: (C)

Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy, and they’re usually built from two or more cells connected in series. Each cell provides a voltage from its chemical reactions, and when several cells are linked in series, their voltages add up to give a higher overall voltage. That combination of cells in series is what defines a battery in practice, supplying energy by converting chemical energy to electrical energy when the circuit is closed. A capacitor stores electrical energy, not chemical energy, and a device that increases voltage doesn’t describe how a battery works; the battery provides energy at a certain voltage from its chemical reactions, rather than actively boosting voltage.

Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy, and they’re usually built from two or more cells connected in series. Each cell provides a voltage from its chemical reactions, and when several cells are linked in series, their voltages add up to give a higher overall voltage. That combination of cells in series is what defines a battery in practice, supplying energy by converting chemical energy to electrical energy when the circuit is closed. A capacitor stores electrical energy, not chemical energy, and a device that increases voltage doesn’t describe how a battery works; the battery provides energy at a certain voltage from its chemical reactions, rather than actively boosting voltage.