MAKING A GOOD BATTERY LAB Setup and Debrief Tahoma Jr. High 8 th Grade Science Maple Valley, WA

Setup your LabPro equipment CAREFULLY – the wires are very delicate. DO NOT EVER TUG ON THEM AT ALL !

You’ll have vinegar in your beaker. You’ll put different metals in the alligator clips. DO NOT GET ANYTHING BUT THE METAL WET and then rinse clean before putting back You’ll record voltage (+ or – does not matter)

Here are the metals we will test: Zn: zinc (grey) (bendable) Al: aluminum (not bendable) Fe: iron Cu: copper x 2 Mg: magnesium (watch this closely in the vinegar) Ni: nickel (shiny) (not bendable) DO NOT DUMP OUT THE VINEGAR !!

DEBRIEF STARTS WITH NEXT SLIDE

two metal combination Voltage produced (estimate 1 decimal place and use absolute value) Cu and Al (Cu = brown Al = narrow thick silver strip) Cu and Fe (Fe = nail) Cu and Mg (thin ribbon) Cu and Zn (soft silver – kind of thick) Cu and Ni (Ni = nickel) Cu and Cu Al and Zn Al and Ni Al and Mg Al and Fe Zn and Ni Zn and Fe Zn and Mg Fe and Ni your values entered here

Zn + Al Other metal combinations go across here

Mg and Cu Cu and Cu Metals that have the biggest DIFFERENCE in Electrical Potential (ability to move electrons) made the most volts.

Lemons ! They are very acidic (other citrus fruits would work too but not as well as lemons)

end show Three things needed to make a battery are: 1. an acid (or a base) 2. a metal 3. a DIFFERENT metal Zinc