During electro-chemical corrosion, which statement best describes the transfer of metal between the anode and cathode?

• A. The anode loses metal to the cathode
• B. The cathode loses metal to the anode
• C. Both lose mass equally
• D. No mass transfer occurs

Answer: (A)

In electrochemical corrosion, the key event is oxidation at the anode: metal atoms lose electrons and dissolve into the electrolyte as metal ions. Those electrons travel through the metal toward the cathode, where reduction occurs. The cathode itself doesn’t lose metal; instead it accepts electrons and drives reduction reactions. So the mass loss happens at the anodic metal, not as a direct solid transfer to the cathode. The metal leaves the anode, enters the solution as ions, and may later redeposit or form corrosion products elsewhere, but the primary site of metal loss is the anode. That’s why describing the process as the anode losing metal is the best way to capture what happens in electrochemical corrosion.