Label the Parts of a Car Battery

A 12-volt car battery with its front wall cut away, to print and label from case to hold-down clamp.

Label the Parts of a Car Battery

Name Date

Numbered worksheet

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Case
  2. Cover
  3. Vent plugs
  4. Positive terminal (+)
  5. Negative terminal (-)
  6. Cell
  7. Hold-down clamp

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step The terminal and the inside of a cell, labeled

All 7 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Outside the battery 6

  1. Case The box that holds the cells. It is divided inside into a compartment for each cell.
  2. Cover The lid sealed on top of the case. The two posts and the vent plugs come through it.
  3. Vent plugs One for each cell. They let gas escape and keep the electrolyte in. A sealed battery has none to open.
  4. Positive terminal (+) The post marked +. It is slightly larger than the negative one, so the cables cannot be swapped by mistake.
  5. Negative terminal (-) The post marked -. Its cable is taken off first and put back last.
  6. Hold-down clamp Holds the battery on its tray so it cannot move about.

Inside a cell 1

  1. Cell One of six compartments, each a small battery of about 2 volts. Joined in a row they make a 12-volt battery.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-30; a name is kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) US Army, TM 9-8000, Principles of Automotive Vehicles (1985, public domain), chapter 12, Batteries: cells of 2 volts, six in series for 12 volts; positive and negative plates, separators, electrolyte of sulfuric acid and water, container with a compartment for each cell, cover with openings for the two battery posts and a vent plug for each cell; https://archive.org/details/tm-9-8000-principles-of-automotive-vehicles-1985 . (2) US Army, TM 9-6140-200-14, Maintenance Manual for Lead-Acid Storage Batteries (1998): terminal posts, terminal clamps and cable clamps, clamp nuts and bolts, battery cables, vent caps, battery case and cover, hold-downs, the positive post larger than the negative, the negative clamp taken off first; https://archive.org/details/tm-9-6140-200-14-maintenance-manual-for-lead-acid-storage-batteries-1998 . (3) A 2009 Toyota Avalon owner's manual, for naming only: terminals, hold-down clamp, terminal clamp bolts; https://archive.org/details/toyota-avalon-02009-owners-manual . (4) Wikipedia, text only: Automotive battery (six cells, nominal 12 volts), Battery terminal (lead posts shaped as truncated cones, of slightly different diameters), Lead-acid battery (plates, separators, electrolyte). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's battery, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the parts of a car battery, write a name on the line for each number. Seven parts carry a number, and the six cells stand side by side inside the case.

Read the full guide

Label parts to a car battery: word bank

Seven names, in alphabetical order: case, cell, cover, hold-down clamp, negative terminal, positive terminal, vent plugs.

Numbers that get swapped

4 and 5 are the two posts: 4 stands over the plus mark (positive terminal), 5 over the minus mark (negative terminal). 3 points at one of the six small caps (vent plugs), 2 at the flat lid they sit in (cover). 1 is the outer wall (case), 6 one compartment inside it (cell). 7 is the small wedge at the foot (hold-down clamp).

  • When marking, vent caps is right on line 3, container on line 1 and lid on line 2.
  • The tall sheets inside each cell are its plates and separators. They have no number on this sheet.

Questions and answers

What does SLI battery mean?

Starting, lighting and ignition. A car battery is built to give a large current for a short time to start the engine, so it is sometimes called an SLI battery.

What are the plates in a car battery made of?

A grid of lead alloy. In a charged battery the negative plates are lead and the positive plates are lead dioxide.

Do all car batteries have vent caps?

No. Each cell once had a filler cap with a small vent hole, where water could be added. Modern batteries need less upkeep and may have no caps for adding water.

Are car battery terminals always on top?

No. Top posts are two lead cones of slightly different sizes. Some batteries have side terminals instead: two threaded holes of the same size that take a bolt.

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