Purpose- Which fruit/vegetable will produce the most electric voltage?
Hypothesis- When I attach a galvanized nail and a copper strip to a potato, the greatest voltage will be produced
Materials- Fruit/Veggies, Voltmeter, 2 wires, 2 different metals (copper/zinc), knife
Procedure-
- Cut the piece of fruit/vegetable
- Put in two pieces of metal
- Attach to voltmeter using wires
- record the results
- compare results from several pieces of fruit
Reasoning-
-The potato will create the greatest voltage because the starch and salt from the potato creates a salt bridge for the two metals, the salt bridge is formed by the salt that releases ions that flow from one metal to the other creating an electric current.
https://www.environmentbuddy.com/energy/how-to-generate-electricity-from-a-potato/
Fruits/vegetables that are being used-
Results- The potato has 0.7 volts, the tomato has 0.45, and the carrot has 0.5
Observations- Once we put the metals into the vegetable and only put one wire in the voltmeter did not work but once we attached the two wires the voltmeter worked. The copper rust got onto the veggies and fruits. Once we attached the two wires to the voltmeter the arrow immediately moved which was a surprise because I thought that it might take a few seconds to move.
Picture of the carrots volt being measured-
What is causing the electrons to flow in this experiment?
-The fruit or vegetable is an electrolyte solution allowing the electrons on the metal to flow.
What are the independent(change), dependent(measure), and controlled variables(control) in this experiment?
-The independent variable is the fruits and veggies and the dependent is the amount of voltage produced and a controlled variable would be the galvanized nail, copper strip, voltmeter and the two wires.
How can we modify our experiment to improve results?
-We can use different or more fruit and veggies for higher amounts of voltage.
What could be sources of error or uncertainty in our experiment?
-The wires could have malfunctioned the machine might be broken or we are using the equipment improperly.
How can I use this in my everyday life?
-You can light an LED by using this experiment.
Very good post outlining the learning you gained from creating your own battery with fruit. Isn’t it interesting what came out as the best electrolyte? It has to do with something called the Van’t Hoff Factor. Consider checking it out if you want to know more. Awesome work!