November 2015 archive

Currents from the kitchen

In class today we did a lab including different types of fruits and vegetables. In the experiment we created a circuit using a lemon as a battery and hooked up two wires from it to a volt meter. One the two wires connected to the lemon, one wire acted as the negative electrode while the other acted as the positive electrode. One end attached to a copper wire was stuck in the lemon while the other had a piece of zinc attached to the wire and stuck in the other end. This circuit seemed to be used the most and the most effective.

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We noticed at the beginning of the experiment, none of the led lights/light bulbs would light up. This was also true for other groups as no one else’s lights would light up. it wasn’t until later that we found out by reading the box, the lights only work when more 2 or more volts are produced. Our fruits didn’t even come close to that which is why they didn’t light. Since the electrons didn’t flow through the bulb we used a volt meter.

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We did this experiment with more then one type of fruit/vegetable. We conducted our experiment with both a lemon and a potato. We observed when our fruit/veggie battery was hooked up to a volt meter that the lemon was negatively charged, while the potato was positively charged. I think this was because in the lemon, the negative electrode collected more electrons then the positive electrode, making the lemon emanate a negative charge. the opposite applies to the potato.

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I don’t know if this would be the best way to combat the “next big thing” in clean energy because there’s so many better things the foods used could contribute to in other areas. Yes it acts like a battery but it’s also really weak and produces under one volt. To make it the next big thing you would need a lot of that food. Also instead of wasting food to power electronics, the food could be given to people that actually need it. I would rather the industry works on stopping world hunger then using the very thing that can help stop it for gadgets.

Prediction about best fruit/vegetable conductor

I believe the best conductor of electricity that’s a food is a lemon

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I believe that a lemon can be a good conductor because it acts the same way as a battery. a battery contains two pieces of metal called electrodes, and a liquid or paste called electrolytes. When the electrodes and electrolytes connect with a material that can transport electricity well (a conductor). This causes a chemical reaction to occur. In a lemon, a solution of water and a electrolyte (the acid in a lemon) makes a large amount of electrons collect on one end of the electrodes, while at the same time many are lost from the other electrode. This causes a lemon to act like a battery when two different wires are connected to it. The wires act as the electrodes having one become positively charged and the other negatively charged.

Electricity Mind Map

This is a mind map I made that shows my knowledge on electricity prior to the electricity unit we’re starting this week.

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Some Questions I have about electricity that will hopefully be answered throughout the unit:

  • Why does the human race rely on electricity so much?
  • Who discovered electricity?
  • Why was electricity such a big deal when it was discovered?
  • Would the world be a better place if electricity wasn’t discovered at all?
  • Does always being being on devices effect the planet?
  • Does electricity cause global warming?
  • should electricity be a key factor in everyday life?

(Pardon the carpet background of my mind map)

🙂