Final answer:
The statement is false; in an NPN transistor, a voltage applied to the base allows current to flow from the emitter to the collector, not from an anode to a cathode.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that when a voltage relative to the ground is applied to the base of an NPN transistor, current is allowed to flow from the anode to the cathode is false. In an NPN transistor, when a voltage is applied to the base, it allows current to flow from the emitter to the collector, not from the anode to the cathode. This is because an NPN transistor is composed of an n-type emitter, a p-type base, and an n-type collector, with the emitter acting as the source of electrons and the collector as the sink.
The correct statement is that the base voltage acts as a valve to control the electric current from the emitter to the collector in an NPN transistor. Furthermore, a transistor is not described in terms of anode and cathode; these terms are typically used for devices like diodes. Instead, an NPN transistor is described by its three regions: emitter, base, and collector.