You can see from the half-cell potential of zinc that the
principle is the same.
A galvanized
steel bucket is corrosion-free, not merely because zinc shields
the iron as paint would, but because zinc
electrochemically prevents iron from being reduced.
Scratch a galvanized pail and the pail will not
corrode; the zinc will be oxidized
instead. In principle the iron object does not even have to
be covered completely for protection to occur.
The zinc itself is relatively well protected because when
some of it is oxidized, it absorbs
CO2 from the air and forms a tightly adhering
zinc oxide-carbonate coating.
A "tin can" is a different story. Tin has a
higher reduction
potential than iron, and a greater tendency to
remain reduced as the metal.
A tin can is tin-plated iron, and if the surface is scratched,
the iron will oxidize preferentially
instead of the tin.
Nothing electrochemical is gained by plating the can with
tin; it is only a super-tight protective coating like paint.
When the coating is breached, corrosion is rapid
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