Concept:An electrochemical cell is a device that strictly mediates the interconversion of chemical energy and electrical energy through redox (oxidation-reduction) reactions.
Solution:- Voltaic/Galvanic cells convert spontaneous chemical energy into electricity. Electrolytic cells use electricity to force a non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Both rely on redox chemistry.
- A Solar cell (or photovoltaic cell) operates entirely on solid-state semiconductor physics (the photoelectric effect across a p-n junction). It converts photon energy directly into electrical energy without any chemical redox reactions occurring.
- Note: Options B and D refer to the exact same technology, but standard past paper answer keys specifically target "Solar cell" as the explicit exception to chemical definitions.
Why other options are incorrect:Electrolytic and voltaic cells are the textbook definitions of electrochemical cells.
Quality & Fidelity Assurance:
Every question on BeambePrep is rigorously curated against the official PMDC syllabus with zero filler, zero out-of-syllabus content, and zero typos. When an authentic past paper originally contained a historical mistake or ambiguity from the examining board (such as UHS or NUMS), BeambePrep faithfully reflects the original paper while detailing the nuance and scientific consensus in the autopsy above.