Galvanic Cell Diagram – 7 Parts, Anode to Salt Bridge

All 7 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 5 main parts 5

Anode The electrode where oxidation happens; it gives up electrons and slowly dissolves.
Cathode The electrode where reduction happens. Ions from its solution take electrons and plate onto it.
Anode half-cell The anode and the solution of its own metal ions. Ions build up here as the anode dissolves.
Cathode half-cell The cathode and the solution of its metal ions. The ions are used up as they plate out.
Salt bridge A tube of inert electrolyte that lets ions flow between the half-cells. That keeps their charges balanced.

Other 2

Wire (external circuit) Joins the electrodes outside the solutions so electrons can flow. Here they flow through a meter.
Electron flow Electrons flow through the wire from the anode to the cathode.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 17.2 Galvanic Cells, https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-2e/pages/17-2-galvanic-cells : the anode is the electrode where oxidation occurs and the cathode where reduction occurs; the two half-cell solutions are joined by a salt bridge of inert electrolyte that keeps the charges balanced; electrons flow through the external wire; the anode half-cell gains metal cations as the cathode half-cell loses them. (2) Wikipedia, Galvanic cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_cell : two half-cells, each an electrode in an electrolyte, joined by a salt bridge; anode, cathode. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This galvanic cell diagram shows a voltaic cell, the kind of electrochemical cell inside a battery: two half-cells joined by a salt bridge and a wire, with electrons flowing from anode to cathode.

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Two half-cells

At the anode, oxidation gives up electrons and the metal slowly dissolves into its half-cell. At the cathode, reduction takes electrons in and ions from its solution plate onto the metal.

Closing the loop

Electrons flow through the wire from anode to cathode, doing work on the way. The salt bridge lets ions flow between the solutions so neither builds up a charge that would stop the current.

A way to remember: oxidation at the anode, reduction at the cathode. Both anode and oxidation begin with a vowel.

Questions and answers

What does the salt bridge do in a galvanic cell?

It is a tube of inert electrolyte joining the two solutions. Ions flow through it to balance the charge as the reaction runs; without it, the current would soon stop.

Which way do electrons flow in a galvanic cell?

Through the external wire from the anode, where oxidation releases them, to the cathode, where reduction uses them.

Is a galvanic cell the same as a voltaic cell?

Yes. Both names mean a cell that turns a spontaneous chemical reaction into electric current, like the cells in a battery.