The anode is the site of which process?

• A. Oxidation
• B. Reduction
• C. Combination
• D. Condensation

Answer: (A)

Oxidation is the process at the anode. Oxidation means a substance loses electrons, and those electrons are released at the anode into the external circuit to travel to the other electrode. There, reduction occurs, which is the gain of electrons. For example, in a zinc-copper cell, zinc at the anode loses electrons to form Zn2+, and those electrons move to the copper side where Cu2+ gains electrons to become Cu. The other two options describe other processes (reduction is the gain of electrons, not loss; condensation and combination are unrelated phase or bonding changes) and don’t describe what happens at the anode.