Experiment: Energy Through Water By Jordan and Takee Experiment: Energy Through Water

Aim To observe if electricity can conduct through a battery while in water (Coloured or Transparent) to produce energy to power a light bulb.

Hypothesis Can electricity conduct through a battery while in coloured water? Will it create the same effect as a battery under normal conditions?

Materials Battery, Wire, Circuit, Mug/Container, Water, Alligator Clips, Light Bulb, Food Colouring (Any Colour/Optional).

Method Fill the container with water. Clip the alligator clips onto the wire. Dye the water. (Any Colour)(Optional) Place the battery in the water filled container. Place the light bulb onto the battery. Place the wire on the positive side of the battery. Observe the circuit and reaction of the electricity.

Hypothesis was not Correct

Working Method Fill the container with water. Clip the alligator clips onto the wire. Dye the water. (Optional) Place the light bulb onto the water Make the wire touch the light-bulb Observe the circuit and reaction of the electricity.

Observations (Written Manually)

Discussion This outcome occurred because the second battery wasn’t needed and the wires weren’t insulated. The original hypothesis for this experiment determined that energy would be able to travel between a circuit and a light bulb through water.

Discussion Once water contains ions it will conduct electricity, such as from a lightning bolt or a wire from the wall socket, as the electricity from the source will seek out oppositely-charged ions in the water. This feature is put into practise in insulating wires with rubber to protect them from water and to also help them to not overheat.

Discussion  Picture of Insulated Wires Insulating wires allows electricity to be transferred through water. In our observations you can see that the submerged wires lost their electricity from being exposed in water.  Picture of Insulated Wires

Conclusion When we conducted our experiment our hypothesis was disproved partially. Because the wires weren’t insulated we couldn’t transfer the electricity to the light bulb. We found out that uninsulated wires are vulnerable to water and overheating because they aren’t protected by rubber, etc.

Conclusion To follow up we might conduct a new experiment using salt water or possibly a new experiment using insulated cables.