Purpose:
Which fruit will create the most electric voltage?
Hypothesis:
The fruit that will create the most electrical voltage is the lemon or orange.
Reasoning:
I believe that the lemon/orange will create the most electrical voltage is the lemon/orange because of the acidity, which will conduct electricity better than the other fruits which are less acidic.
Materials:
- 1 voltmeter
- 2 wires
- 1 nail
- 1 copper strip
- lemon
- orange
- fruit 3
Procedure:
- Connect 2 wires to a voltmeter
- Connect the wires to a strip of metal
- Put the strip of metal into the fruit
- Measure the voltage with the different fruits
- Find the fruit with the greatest charge
Images:
Observations:
Most of the fruits gave us a charge of 0.4V, except for the apple and cantaloupe, and the larger pieces of fruits were the ones giving us the largest charges, so that may have been a factor in the results. I also observed that when the wires were moved, the voltage would change slightly on the voltmeter. When we were trying to light the led light, it wasn’t working out, until we tried a different method of connecting the copper strips and the nails in an alternating pattern.
Results:
- potato – 0.4V
- apple – 0.3V
- lemon – 0.4V
- pear – 0.4V
- cantaloupe – 0.6V
- orange – 0.4V
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the most important finding was that the acidic fruits and the potato, which is high in sodium, gave off a larger charge than the non-acidic and low sodium fruits/vegetables did. However, the cantaloupe, which was the largest fruit, gave off the largest charge.
My hypothesis was supported because I predicted that the acidic fruits would create the most electrical voltage, and they did create more voltage than the non-acidic fruits, however, I didn’t mention the sodium part in my hypothesis.
Some questions I have are: how long would the fruits be able to create electrical voltage? Would it be enough to light/power any electronics? Will the size of the fruits affect the amount of voltage the fruits create?
Questions:
What is causing electrons to flow in this experiment?
The nail is coated in zinc, which loses some electrons, those electrons move through the wire, to the voltmeter, then the copper strip. The electrons flow from the negative (the nail), to the positive (the copper strip).
What are the independent, dependent, and controlled variables?
independent: the different fruits that were used
dependent: the amount of electrical voltage that the fruits produced
controlled: the same equipment was used for all the fruits (nail, copper strip, wires, voltmeter)
How can we modify this experiment to improve the results?
We can modify it by increasing the amount of times you test each fruit, if you test them at least 3 times and average the results, you will get more accurate results.
What could be sources of error or uncertainty in this experiment?
A source of error in this experiment would be if the wires weren’t connected to the voltmeter properly, or if the size of the fruits were different, which could affect the results.
How could you use this in your everyday life?
You can use this in your everyday life by using circuits to power things with voltage, since you need to know that electrons flow, and they must flow in a circuit. You can also apply the knowledge of acidic fruits being the best conductors of electrical voltage if you’re planning to power different electronics.