🔍 Key Concepts

• Lead-acid battery construction (plates, electrolyte, case, terminals) • How moisture on the battery top can affect electrical current paths • Difference between corrosion at terminals and electrical leakage/discharge across the case

💭 Think About

• If the top of the battery is wet or dirty, what path could electricity take that it normally wouldn’t? • Does moisture on the outside of the battery directly change the load on the terminals, or does it affect something else? • Think about which effect is more continuous and subtle over time: corrosion, overload, or leakage.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what a wet, dirty surface on top of a battery can do to resistance between the terminals • Consider whether overload is usually caused by external moisture or by excessive current draw in the circuit • Check if keeping the top dry helps only corrosion, or also affects slow discharge across the surface of the case