FRUIT BATTERY

Conclusion

My original hypothesis was that an acidic fruit, or citrus will conduct the most electricity. I believe this fruit to be a lemon as they are extremely sour. My hypothesis unfortunately was not supported in this case, as the lemon, instead of being with the best result was indeed, third best result at 0.93 volts (tying in with the lime).

Results

Aim

To compare and record the electrical charges given off by certain fruits and to verify which fruit gives off the most electrical charge in a fruit battery.

Hypothesis

An acidic or citrus will conduct the most electricity. I believe that this fruit will be a lemon

Variables

Independent variable The type of fruit

Dependent variable The voltage recorded on the multimeter by the fruit battery

Controlled variables (5) -Distance between the zinc and copper rods -Time left after juices are flowing to conduct experiment -The multimeter must be the same -The person conducting the experiment must be the same -How long you roll fruit for

Results

Research

In a piece of fruit there are acidic substances. When you make a fruit battery the chemical energy in the acid is converted into electrical energy, just like a regular battery, thus creating a circuit and generating a small amount of electricity. This particular experiment shows how electricity can be generated.To conduct this experiment there must be 3 tests on the same fruit. Then an average must be calculated.

There must be 2 metals that conduct. The two metal that have been recommended for this experiment is copper and zinc (or galvanized) .The zinc nail is an ACTIVE metal, which reacts with the acid in the fruit. The active ingredient in the fruit are positively charged ions. A transfer of electrons takes place between the zinc nail and the acid from the fruit. The nails act as poles for the battery, one positive and one negative. Electrons travel from the positive pole to the negative pole via the leads (the conductor), generating enough electricity to the multimeter.

Fruit

Battery

Discussion (summarized)

Diagram

Surprisingly the results were fairly close considering that each type of fruit was a different size and shapes. The results were all between 0.85 volts and 0.97 volts, this means that all the result were within a max of 0.12 volts of each other. Even the apple got a surprisingly high voltage with 0.92. Another thing I noticed with the trends in the data is that with every piece of fruit the numbers on the multimeter went up around 0.03 volts before stopping and I believe that this could be why the results on each test varied by only a few volts and an average needed to be calculated.

I may have made some errors in the squishing of the fruit as to get the juices flowing. Some, I believe, had been squeezed less and some more. I will make a point of fixing those errors and paying more attention to them so that they are prevented in future experiments. This experiment has been only limited to different fruits, especially citrus and acidic fruits, as I was limited to the amount of fruits and veggies I could use. If I was to redo this test I would use different fruits and vegetables, especially vegetables.

FRUIT BATTERY

THANK YOU!