When a spoon is to be electroplated with nickel the spoon is

Electroplating is the deposition by electrolysis of a coating of metal upon a conducting surface. The simplest system makes the object to be plated the negative electrode (cathode) or plate in a galvanic couple. Thus a spoon or other object may be connected by a wire to a plate of nickel. The process that occurs on the spoon is called reduction and, therefore, the spoon is also referred to as a cathode.