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How the Lemon Battery Works When the zinc-plated screw comes into contact with the citric acid in the lemon, it starts two chemical reactions. In one reaction, called oxidation, the acid begins to remove the zinc atoms from the plating on the screw. Two electrons are then removed from each zinc atom, giving the zinc atom a positive charge of two. These charged zinc atoms, called zinc ions, remain in the lemon and darken the area near the screw after some time has passed. The other reaction, called reduction, focuses on the positively charged hydrogen atoms, or hydrogen ions, in the citric acid near the screw. These ions accept electrons released by the oxidation reaction and form hydrogen gas, which can sometimes be seen bubbling out around the screw. The hydrogen ions are called oxidation agents, because of their tendency to remove electrons from the zinc. These two reactions continue as long as the zinc- plated screw is in the lemon and there is zinc remaining on the screw. They do not depend on the presence of copper or any other material. The important thing to realize is that electrons are being released from the zinc and being accepted by the hydrogen ions in the acid. The copper in the coin is also an oxidation agent. In fact, it is a slightly stronger
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Page 1: Cleanliness is an attitude.doc

How the Lemon Battery Works

When the zinc-plated screw comes into contact with the citric acid in the lemon, it starts two chemical reactions. In one reaction, called oxidation, the acid begins to remove the zinc atoms from the plating on the screw. Two electrons are then removed from each zinc atom, giving the zinc atom a positive charge of two.

These charged zinc atoms, called zinc ions, remain in the lemon and darken the area near the screw after some time has passed.

The other reaction, called reduction, focuses on the positively charged hydrogen atoms, or hydrogen ions, in the citric acid near the screw.

These ions accept electrons released by the oxidation reaction and form hydrogen gas, which can sometimes be seen bubbling out around the screw.

The hydrogen ions are called oxidation agents, because of their tendency to remove electrons from the zinc.

These two reactions continue as long as the zinc-plated screw is in the lemon and there is zinc remaining on the screw. They do not depend on the presence of copper or any other material. The important thing to realize is that electrons are being released from the zinc and being accepted by the hydrogen ions in the acid.

The copper in the coin is also an oxidation agent. In fact, it is a slightly stronger oxidation agent than the hydrogen ions in the citric acid; that is, it can attract many of the available electrons that are released from the zinc. But it cannot do so until there is a connection between the copper and the zinc-plated screw. When a conducting pathway or circuit is established between the zinc-plated screw and the copper penny, the

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copper draws electrons out of the screw through the circuit and back into the lemon through the coin.

This movement of electrons through the circuit is an electric current. By convention, scientists have agreed that electrons move away from the negative terminal of a battery or electric cell and through the circuit toward the positive terminal. Thus the zinc (source of electrons) is the negative terminal in a lemon electric cell, and the copper is the positive terminal.

When the circuit includes a light-emitting diode (LED), the electric current can make it light up.

The voltage of the lemon electric cell comes from the relative difference in the ability of zinc and copper to give up electrons. The electric current provided by the cell depends on the quantity of electrons released by the chemical reactions, among other things.

Source: Snyder, Carl H. (1998). The Extraordinary Chemistry of Ordinary Things, 3rd ed., New York: Wiley 1998, pp 258-271.

 

Why Does Lemon Conducts Electricity?

written by: Raunekk • edited by: Swagatam • updated: 2/22/2010

Generating electricity using a lemon is a very common experiment which is conducted to make students understand the functioning of a battery. But what is common between a battery and a lemon? What is it inside the lemon that conducts electricity? Find the answers to these questions in the article.

Introduction

Every one of us is familiar with the school experiment involving a lemon conducting electricity. This 5th grader experiment, though simple, still arouses curiosity in people of all ages. However, there are many who still don’t know as to how and why electricity is produced from a lemon. In this article we will try to unravel the mystery once and for all.

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Understanding the Basics

All of us know how an electro-chemical battery works. The construction and working of the lemon experiment can be compared to a conventional battery having electrodes and electrolyte. “Lemon battery”, as the experiment is popularly known, requires two external metal electrodes in the same way; however the electrolyte is supplied by the lemon itself.

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In a conventional battery, the two electrodes are two different metal pieces (Usually copper and zinc), submerged in an acidic solution (electrolyte) and connected through an external wiring to a voltmeter or a small bulb. Similarly, for a “lemon battery” experiment, two different metals in the form of a zinc nail and a copper coin are inserted into a juicy lemon. The lemon battery is also known as a voltaic battery which produces electricity by converting chemical energy to electrical energy.

https://www.google.com/url?ct=abg&q=https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/request.py%3Fcontact%3Dabg_afc%26url%3Dhttp://www.brighthubengineering.com/commercial-electrical-applications/64675-why-does-lemon-conducts-electricity/%26gl%3DIN%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dca-pub-6409535612800042%26ai0%3DCORPT4lGuVKTYDNOvuATS_4KAC_m4zvEF4ZiumccBwI23ARABIOmNqQYoA2DlgoCArA6gAbnhkegDyAEBqQILd_2jnh5RPqgDAaoE0wFP0EuPDLNeMhKSlwSTS9NrKzbFeQ0eNFs1HzR4HA5N151r4GO5cj5gSa96et4OiB_PqEY1tw3NjEVwlAsS1l1jeDaYQ-eWktNgALEyBZNOTA3qmrRBXTvpmc4OwTi-YV4lJTpXOQ8Si7r5w2S61QqYsgjbS8nXepJ5MKehD1IbXCQH2njUaNvZBPuu0mHalpK9G50Gsd2_2Q_3JFL_ODS8dHvFM1TulokYBJyY8mNb-WylzAFLzUUEZLcvGcl5iQkveDbUI7uU-0N5aPLo4N1ic-09iAYBgAfhsKos%26ai1%3DC43AP4lGuVKTYDNOvuATS_4KAC-7Ox9AG9rnfl5oBwI23ARACIOmNqQYoA2DlgoCArA6gAaKgwOoDyAEBqQILd_2jnh5RPqgDAaoE1gFP0Fu4dLReMRKSlwSTS9NrKzbFeQ0eNFs1HzR4HA5N151r4GO5cj5gSa96et4OiB_PqEY1tw3NjEVwlAsS1l1jeDaYQ-eWktNgALEyBZNOTA3qmrRBXTvpmc4OwTi-YV4lJTpXOQ8Si7r5w2S61QqYsgjbS8nXepJ5MKehD1IbXCQH2njUaNvZBPuu0mHalpK9G50Gsd2_2Q_3JFL_QDe8PHtNAuUA-3rm73cp_WNbW4VOYfmgO78FkbRp7Mq9fAqvjTXUxriUHkB5nffoAN3TN1zKRvDniAYBgAfG378V%26ai2%3DC8cza4lGuVKTYDNOvuATS_4KAC_DMt9AE-KSJm8kBwI23ARADIOmNqQYoA2DlgoCArA7IAQGpAsoT26to-xs-qAMBqgTQAU_Qe_1smV4wEpKXBJNL02srNsV5DR40WzUfNHgcDk3XnWvgY7lyPmBJr3p63g6IH8-oRjW3Dc2MRXCUCxLWXWN4NphD55aS02AAsTIFk05MDeqatEFdO-mZzg7BOL5hXiUlOlc5DxKLuvnDZLrVCpiyCNtLydd6knkwp6EPUhtcJAfaeNRo29kE-67SYdqWkr0bnQax3b_ZD_ckUv9wNG12uXYi5Gx9YqkLnJhQirBUlE46-0o4RkKRtOvsyvl8Ci-dNdTGuJQORnmI8gi3XP6AB-i9nyw&usg=AFQjCNESQRbaiUcYJeSSiGCxF_ZigZGhXQ
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How is Electricity Produced?

For understanding how electricity is produced in a lemon we will go through the basic principle of transfer of electrons and electro-chemical reactions. The juice of lemon is acidic in nature and works as a powerful electrolyte. The lemon itself serves as a reservoir for transfer of electrons to and from the electrodes. When the two electrodes, copper and zinc, are suspended in the acidic lemon juice, the atomic structure of the atoms of both the electrodes starts breaking, resulting in production of individual electrons.

Both the electrodes are not in contact with each other and thus a flow of electrons is generated through the electrodes and electrolyte. The copper acts a positive electrode and the zinc acts as the negative electrode. Both the metals are good conductors of electricity and thus a flow of electrons take place from the negative to positive electrode. This free flow of electrons results in the generation of an electric potential. Depending on this electrons flow rate, the amount of voltage generated is measured using a voltmeter. Thus this experiment proves that electricity can also be generated just by plain chemical reaction.

However, it is to note that electricity will be generated only when the battery circuit gets completed by external wiring. Also, it is not the lemon which is the source of energy, but the chemical change in the zinc that produces electricity. The zinc electrode, when inside the lemon, gets oxidized by releasing electrons and goes to a lower energy state. This leads to the transfer of electrons from a high energy state electrode to a low energy state electrode. Thus, lemon just serves as an environment for the generation of electricity; however doesn’t produce any electrons on its own.

The voltage produced by a single lemon is very small. However, a series of lemons can be used to increase the voltage of the whole battery. A series involving four lemon batteries can easily light an LED.

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Image Credits

Project to Make a Battery From a Lemon

1. 18-gauge copper wire (smaller gauge will work too, but 18-gauge is stiffer)2. Wire clippers

3. Steel paper clip (Some people find that a 2-inch strip of zinc works better)

4. Sheet of coarse sandpaper

5. Lemon

6. Help from an older friend or an adult

Have your older friend or an adult strip 2 inches of insulation off the copper wire. Clip the 2 inches of bare wire with the clippers.

Straighten out the paper clip and cut about 2 inches of the straightened steel wire, or use a 2-inch piece or strip of zinc.

Use sandpaper to smooth any rough spots on the ends of the wire and paper clip or piece of zinc.

Squeeze the lemon gently with your hands.

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But don't rupture the lemon's skin. Rolling it on a table with a little pressure works great.

Push the pieces of the paper clip and the wire into the lemon so they are as close together as you can get them without touching.

Moisten your tongue with saliva. Touch the tip of your wet tongue to the free ends of the two wires.

You should be able to feel a slight tingle on the tip of your tongue and taste something metallic.

The lemon battery is called a voltaic battery, which changes chemical energy into electrical energy.

The battery is made up of two different metals (the steel paper clip and the copper wire). These are called electrodes, which are the parts of a battery where electric current enters or leaves the battery. The electrodes are placed in a liquid containing an electrolyte, which is a solution that can conduct electricity.

In a solution of water and an electrolyte, like the acid in the lemon, an excess of electrons collects on one end of the electrodes. At the same time, electrons are lost from the other electrode.

Touching the electrodes to your tongue closes the circuit and allows an small electric current to flow. A single lemon produces about 7/10 of a volt of electricity. If you connected two lemons together, you can power an inexpensive digital watch (uses about 1.5 volts). (Use a length of thin, flexible wire to connect the silver wire of one lemon to the copper wire of the other lemon. Then attach thin wires from the other two wires in the lemons to where a battery's positive and negative poles connect to power the watch.)

The tingle felt in your tongue and the metallic taste is due to the movement of electrons through the saliva on your tongue.

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Note About Lemon Energy

We've had some students do this project and then try to use the lemon "battery" to light a small flashlight's light bulb. The lemons did not work. Why? The reason is that the lemons produce only a very small current (about one milliamp). This is not enough electric current to light the bulb. Even with multiple lemons, the amount of current flowing through the wire is not enough. Though the voltage is high enough (1.5 volts with two lemons), the current is too weak. But it was a great experiment! Even if an experiment doesn't work, it helps us to understand how things work. Good work!!!

You also may want to check out:

Belorussian translation of this project provided by Movavi.

Frequently-Asked Questions About "Food" Batteries (www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/chem/food_batteries.html)

Dr. Dan's Homepage: The Official Lemon-Power Website! - using lemons to power stuff! (www.autopenhosting.org/lemon/index.html)

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Lemon Battery ProjectElectricity for kids and grownups alike!

Making a lemon battery is one of the classic science projects for kids. It is inexpensive, easy to set up and fairly easy to perform.

If you take a quick peek at the supplies photo below, you'll see we need a voltmeter. Don't let that scare you. A fruit battery doesn't generate enough power to actually light a bulb, so a meter

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is needed to see the effect. That's why I believe this is better suited as a 5th grade science project, if done by itself. However, nothing is hard and fast here. If you want to combine this with the "Turning on a Light Bulb" experiment to bridge the gap between lighting a bulb and seeing the meter move, it could be made to fit elementary science projects from about first grade on.

Enough of the intro stuff ... let's create a lemon battery - and then try to figure out how it works. Have fun!

Objective

What could be more everyday than a lemon, a couple of nails and some wire? Well, that's all you need to make a lemon battery. As is the case with most science projects on this site, the goal here is to learn by using stuff we see around us in everyday life.

We will learn a bit more about electricity, possibly some new science terms, and if this project is done with the first grade "Light Bulb" experiment, we can tie a familiar flashlight operation to the more abstract concept of a meter reading.

Materials

- 1 medium size lemon or lime- About 4 in. wire with insulationremoved, #12 or #18 works just fine- 1 steel nail, #6 or 8 is ok- 1 zinc plated nail, #6 or 8 is ok- Small piece of sand paper- Knife or wire pliers (not shown) toremove insulation- A voltmeter that can read tenths of a volt, but nothing fancy beyond that.

Preparation

The lemon battery project requires almost no advance setup. Just gather the above material, strip the insulation off the wire and use the sand paper on the wire and nail ends just before performing the experiment.

Project Day

Break the class into equal groups according to the number material sets you have available. If you are tying this to the battery light project, now is a good time to use the wire, flashlight bulb and battery to show how they are used to light the bulb itself. Tell them we will see if we can make the lemon into a battery like the one you are holding to light the bulb.

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Order does not matter, but I selected a steel nail and copper wire to start with. They are our battery terminals. Lightly sand the end of the wire and nail. Without letting any part of the nail touch the wire, insert both 'terminals' in the lemon about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep and as close together as you can get them.

Note - if they touch, our battery will be 'shorted' and no voltage difference will be shown on the meter. If that happens, just pick a new spot on the lemon and try again.

Turn the voltmeter on to a DC volt setting. If you have a battery handy (AAA, AA, C or D is fine), use it to show the class that the meter is really working. The meter will show 1.2 to 1.5 volts if new, depending on which you size you used, and possibly less if it is an old one. Let them know that it is this voltage difference that makes the light bulb in a flashlight come on, as well as the lights inside a car, or their car's headlights at night when they need them.

Note - if the meter shows a minus sign "-" in front of the number, just switch the meter leads (black and red wires) around so that the black wire touches the other end of the battery.

Go ahead and touch one of the meter leads to the nail and the other to the wire. What happens? The reading you see may be different from one lemon to another, and from one trial to the next. This is because the voltage difference we see depends on how far apart the terminals are, how well we make contact with the meter leads, how much and how strong the juice (our Electrolyte) is in each lemon, as well as other things that we cannot easily control in this experiment.

The important thing to note is that there is definitely a voltage difference.

Replace the copper wire with the zinc nail. Touch a meter lead to each nail as shown in the photo. What happened with the lemon battery this time? Same voltage? Higher? Lower?

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This time replace the steel nail with the copper wire. Zinc and Copper make great battery terminals. Can you see why?

If there is time, replace the lemon with an apple or a potato and repeat. The links will take you to that experiment if you would like to review how it relates to the lemon battery first.

If you demonstrated the experiment, try to give the students some time to do the lemon battery project themselves. Have them put the black and red leads directly together to show them nothing happens if there is no space between the meter wires. Have them pull the meter leads apart ever so slightly. That will show them nothing happens by itself even if the leads are very close together, but not in the lemon. Have them stick each lead directly into the lemon, close or far apart. That will show them nothing happens that way either. It only works when you have two different materials, close together but not touching in the lemon. But if you have the right two materials, it sure works then.

As a group, let them know the same thing that causes the light in a flashlight to come on is what causes the meter to move. If you decided to do the two projects together, go ahead and reinforce that by turning the light on again. You can even use the volt meter to show how the needle moves when you connect it to a "real" battery.

Then ask what they think would happen if you could hook up a light to the lemon instead of the battery. Now is your chance to let them know a bit about some basic electricity, a few science terms and perhaps even answer a few science questions about how things work.

What just happened?

For the teacher – as noted in Electricity Science Projects related to Charge, a lemon battery provides a potential difference much like in a car battery. Two dissimilar metals are immersed in the lemon's juice, which acts as the electrolyte. The wire and nails act as the cathode (+ terminal) and anode (- terminal), and similar chemical reactions take place when the voltmeter is hooked up. Ions flow through the electrolyte and electrons flow through the wire.

If the terminals in our experiment are not connected to the meter, no voltage potential can be read. Likewise, if the two metals in the lemon are the same, the chemical reactions do not occur, no ions flow in the electrolyte and no voltage potential is generated ... in other words, nothing happens. If we do use the right metals for our terminals, and we connect the voltmeter as shown in the above photos, we will get a voltage reading.

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One question may remain ... why can't we turn a light bulb on with this battery? The answer is, even if we connected several lemon batteries together (in series) to get the same voltage as in a D cell battery, the current we can get out of a lemon battery is just too small to light the bulb. But it is fun to try!

For the students – as long as we have the right metals in the lemon, and we connect the voltmeter to each of those metals (battery terminals), we will read a voltage on the meter.

Summarize by letting them know - even though the voltage we see is small and our lemon battery just isn't not strong enough to turn on a light by itself, it is the same thing that happens in a flashlight.

After the fruit battery series, try the Coin battery project. It's pretty fun too.

How to Make a Lemon Battery

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Has your flashlight ever stopped working because the batteries were dead?  It’s no fun walking around in complete darkness. Batteries are everywhere—in our toys, in our cars, in our flashlights and cell phones. But how do they work? What makes them stop working? You can learn how to make a lemon battery to learn more about these very important devices.

Problem:

How does a battery work?

Materials:

A lemon, or other citrus fruit 18 (or smaller) gauge copper wire

Wire stripper/clipper

A grown-up or older friend

Steel paper clip, small galvanized nail (one that is covered in zinc), or a piece of zinc (ideal)

Procedure

1. Ask your grown-up to use the wire strippers to first strip about 2 1/2 inches of plastic insulation off the copper wire. Then, request that the grown-up clip that piece of stripped wire off of the main roll.

2. Carefully straighten the steel paper clip. Use the wire clippers to cut it to the same length as your copper wire. 

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3. Use the sandpaper to rub out any rough spots in your wire or paperclip. You are going to be touching the wire ends to your tongue, so you want them to be smooth. If you are using the zinc covered nail or piece, scratch it lightly with the sand paper to expose a fresh surface.

4. Roll the lemon gently on a table to break the cell walls and loosen up the juice inside. The sour juice is needed for the chemical reaction that you are about to start. The fact that the juice is sour should give us some hints about what kind of chemicals make up lemon juice. What do you think the sour flavor might tell us?

5. Carefully stick the copper wire about 1 inch into the lemon.

6. Make sure your tongue is moist with saliva, or spit. Touch your tongue to the copper wire. Do you notice anything? 

7. Stick the paperclip, zinc covered nail or zinc strip into a spot in the lemon about 1/4 inch away from the copper wire. Make sure the wires don’t touch. The wires need to be close to each other because they will be swapping matter in the chemical reaction. If they are too far apart, the matter might lose their way.

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8. This time, touch your moistened tongue to both wire ends. What do you notice?

Results

When you touched your tongue to just the copper wire, you most likely would not have noticed anything unusual. When you touched your tongue to BOTH of the metal ends, you might have felt a tingle, or noticed a metallic taste. 

Why

The tingle or metal taste you noticed shows that your lemon battery was generating an electric current. That means tiny electrons were moving across the surface of your tongue. Electrons are

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subatomic particles that zoom around an atom’s center and make up the part of the atom that is negatively charged.

The lemon battery you made is a type of battery called a voltaic battery. These types of batteries are made of two different metals, which act as electrodes, or places where electrons can enter or leave a battery. In your case, the electrical current entered your tongue, which is why you felt a tingle.

So why were we able to stick electrodes into a lemon and get a battery? All voltaic batteries need their metals to be placed in an electrolyte. An electrolyte is a substance that can carry electrical current when dissolved in water. The tiny bit of salt in your saliva makes your saliva an electrolyte, and the sour citric acid does the same thing for lemon juice. Batteries stop working when there is not enough of the electrolyte to react with the metal or not enough metal left to react with the electrolyte.

Going Further

You can generate more electrical current by connecting multiple lemon batteries. Just make a second battery and connect the zinc or steel piece of one battery with the copper wire of the other battery using another piece of copper wire to act as a bridge.

You can use your enlarged lemon battery to power a low-power device like a digital watch or calculator. Remove the regular battery from the digital watch or calculator.  Then, hook up the copper electrode of your lemon battery with battery slot’s positive contact. Connect the zinc or iron electrode with the negative contact. Can you get the device to work? 

If you are looking to test a variable, try making batteries using different fruits and vegetables. Which ones produce the biggest tingle on your tongue? Which ones generate the most electric current?  

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Warning is hereby given that not all Project Ideas are appropriate for all individuals or in all circumstances. Implementation of any Science Project Idea should be undertaken only in appropriate settings and with appropriate parental or other supervision. Reading and following the safety precautions of all materials used in a project is the sole responsibility of each individual. For further information, consult your state’s handbook of Science Safety.

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Fruit PowerDid you know that some of the fruits and vegetables you eat can also help you make electricity? Try this and see!

Tools and Materials

Three lemons (limes will do) Three shiny pieces of copper such as coins or nails

Three zinc-plated screws

Four wires, preferably with alligator clips on the ends

Small knife

Small paper sticky labels

Red light-emitting diode (LED) with a low voltage rating (available from www.radioshack.com)

Small plastic container, opaque and preferably black (not clear plastic)

Nail or small awl

 

The zinc-plated screws can be found at most hardware stores. They are also called "galvanized" screws. The zinc plating, which is there to prevent rusting of the steel screw, gives them a shiny look. The wires with clips can be found at hardware stores or at electronics suppliers.

What to Do

1. The juice inside each lemon needs to be released. You can dothis by rolling each lemon along the table top. Press down with your hand and roll until you feel the lemon become sort of "squishy." The purpose of this is to release the juice inside the lemon. This step is very important; it helps you to get the maximum response from your lemons.

2. Push and then twist a zinc-plated screw into one of the lemons about one-third of the way from one end. With the

 

WATCH VIDEO TO SEE HOW TO MAKE A FRUIT BATTERY

Digging Deeper

Find out more abouthow the lemon battery works.

 

WATCH VIDEO TO SEE HOW TO CONNECT FRUIT BATTERIES IN SERIES

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knife, carefully cut a 1-cm (0.40-in) slit into the lemon, about one-third of the way from the other end.

Caution: It might be better for an adult to handle the knife. In all cases, please work with the knife slowly and carefully.

3. Insert a copper coin into the slit so that about half of the coin is inside the lemon.

(Note: Make sure you use a shiny new coin for this. If it is old and dull, polish it with steel wool.)

Believe it or not, you can now get electricity from the lemon! It behaves like an electric cell, with the coin as the positive (+) terminal and the screw as the negative (-) terminal. Unfortunately, it is a very weak cell. But if you set up two more lemons in this manner, you can join them to make a lemon battery.

4. Add coins and screws to the other two lemons the same way you did with the first. Then join the three lemons using the wires and clips. The screw of the first lemon should be connected to the coin of the second lemon, and so on. Don't forget to add wires and clips to the first coin and the last screw.

5. Label the clip from the first coin with a "+" and the clip from the last screw with a "-". Like a real battery, your lemon battery has a positive (+) terminal and a negative (-) terminal.

When connected like this—in what is called a series connection—the lemons work together to create about the same voltage, or electrical force, as two small flashlight batteries, somewhere between 2.5 and 3 volts. But this lemon battery does not create enough electrical current to light a flashlight bulb.

How can we tell if we really have created a battery? One way is to connect it to an electronic device that needs no more than about 2.5 to 3 volts but that does not require much electrical current. One such device is called a light-emitting diode, or LED for short. A low voltage and small current can cause an LED to light up.

The specifications on our LED package are: 5-mm LED, 1.8 volt (V), 20 milliamps (mA). This means the diameter of the LED is 5 mm, and that it requires 1.8 V and 20 mA of current to light up. Actually, the LED will light up dimly with less than 20 mA. Our lemon battery has enough volts but not nearly enough milliamps. So we will have to find a way to see its dim light. We tried enclosing it in a dark, opaque plastic container to shield it from outside light.

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6. With the nail, carefully punch two holes in the sides of the plastic container, about halfway down. You might want to get an adult to do this for you.

7. Next, mark one hole with a "+" label and the other with a "-" label.

8. Bend the wires of the LED into smooth outward curves. Then observe the LED closely. It is mostly round; however, if you tilt it in a certain way, you will be able to see a flat surface near one of the wires. The wire nearest this flat surface is the negative terminal. In the photograph the wire on the left is the negative terminal of the LED. Can you see the small flat surface by the leftmost wire?

9. Line up the negative terminal wire of the LED with the "-" labeled hole in the container. Insert the LED into the container. Thread the negative terminal wire of the LED through the "-" labeled hole, and thread the other (positive terminal) wire through the "+" labeled hole.

10. Pull the wires through the holes and secure them in place with the labels. Add labels to the top of the containter as well. Make sure that the LED is facing up.

Let’s get everything prepared for the big moment. Line up the "+" side of the LED container with the "+" clip of your lemon battery. Bring the "-" clip of your lemon battery close to the "-" side of the container.

11. Now we are ready. Connect the positive terminal of the LED to the positive terminal of your lemon battery. Connect the negative terminal of the LED to the negative terminal of your battery. The LED lights up!

The LED is very dim, owing to the small electrical current from your battery. The dark container helps you to see this dim light. The end of the LED acts like a magnifying glass. When you look directly into the end of the LED, you can see the light easily.

This proves that you really have made a lemon battery that works! Congratulations!Troubleshooting

If you can’t see the LED light up try these fixes:

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1. You may have the polarity of the LED reversed, that is, the + and - switched. Reverse the LED and see if it lights up.

2. The LED may be very dim. Try it in a darker room and let you eyes adjust to the dimmer light before testing.

3. Make sure all of the connections are secure: wires clipped to the coins and screws, and coins and screws firmly in the lemons.

More Things to Try Over time the voltage in your lemon battery will go down. See

how long your lemon battery will last. After a while you might notice a darkening of a lemon near the screw. If you remove the screw and insert it (or a new zinc-plated screw) at another place in the lemon, you can partially restore the strength of your battery. You can also "juice up" your battery a little bit by moving the coins or metal pieces in and out of their slots from time to time.

Try more than three lemons connected together. Is the LED light brighter? Does the lemon battery last longer?

Try larger pieces of copper and zinc.

Try using an incandescent bulb—the kind used in a flashlight. Can you make a fruit battery strong enough to light it?

Try other fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes and tomatoes. What about grapefruit and oranges? Can you think of a way to try bottled lemon juice?

Obtain an electronic instrument called a multimeter. This device allows you to measure voltage directly. What is the voltage of your lemon battery? What is the voltage from a single lemon cell?

Now think big with the idea of the lemon battery: Build this supersized cell

 

 

Page 20: Cleanliness is an attitude.doc

Cleanliness is an attitude

Introduction:

Cleanliness is one of the good qualities. It is a part of our civilization. A man of dirty habits is far from civilization. So, with the progress of civilization man cleans himself more and more. He cleans his body. He cleans his mind and heart. He cleans all his action and manners. he cleans his soul. This will lead him to the highest form of civilization. But on the cleanliness of body, depend all other cleanings. Hence, cleanliness is considered so important.

Usefulness:

If we clean our bodies and limbs we will be free form many kinds of disease. Clean food cooked in the clean pot and served in the clean dishes, will give us health and happiness. If we clean our bodies regularly, our complexion will be brighter. We will look fit and smart. If we wear clean dress our mind will be happy. Cleanliness gives us a cheerful mind. We are more interested to write on a clean khata than on a dirty one. Hence, we write more and better. We like to read clean books. Hence, we read more and understand better. So, cleanliness brings us progress and improvement in all fields of activities and in all spheres of life. By cleanliness of body and limbs, cleanliness of all our articles of use, cleanliness of our dwellings and soul, we gradually move towards divinity. Hence, there is saying. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".

How to keep clean:

In order to keep ourselves neat and clean, we should properly take daily care of ourselves, of our articles of use, of our dwellings and surroundings and of our neighborhood. We should clean our teeth and tongues two times a day in the morning and before going to bed. Beside, we should clean our mouth properly before and after each meal and each tiffin. We should was our bodies two times a day with soap and water. We should clean our cloth and shirts with washing soap everyday at the time of bath. We should sweep our house off all dirts. We should remove the filth and rubbish into a pit, dug out at a distance for this purpose. We should clean our beddings and lay them exposed to sun and air. We should look to the proper drainage and sanitation work of our house and the surrounding. We should wash our house and furniture with soda and water once a week. We should advice our neighbors to be neat and clean. Because we cannot be perfectly clean, if our neighbors are dirty. We should wash our latrines and urinals everyday with dettol and phenyl. We should get our hair cut and our nails pared at proper intervals. These are some important to keep ourselves neat and clean.

Conclusion:

it is really a matter of sorrow that most of our students are dirty. It is very sorrowful when we think that they keep dirty. Though they read science and hygiene. To make our countrymen neat and clean we should put ideals in the public institutions. So, our students should learn to keep themselves clean regularly.