Lemon Battery
WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?
Did you know that you can make a battery using lemons? With just five lemons, some coins, screws, and copper wire, you can make an electric current flow around a circuit with enough energy to illuminate a small lamp called a light emitting diode (LED). Now just imagine what you could power with one hundred lemons!
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
You will learn to use coin, electrical compoenets and fruit to make a battery.
STEPS
STEP 1
With an adult's help, use the knife to make a cut in a lemon, about 1/2in (1cm) from the center, and roughly 3/4in (2cm) deep. Now push a coin firmly into the slit you have created. Do the same with the other four lemons.
STEP 2
About 1/2 in (1 cm) from the center of the first lemon—on the other side to the coin—insert a galvanized screw. Twist it in, clockwise, to secure it in the lemon's flesh. Now repeat with the other four lemons, then arrange the lemons in a circle.
STEP 3
Squeeze the clip on one wire so that it opens, like a crocodile's jaws. Place it around the screw in one lemon, so it grips it. Connect the other clip to the coin in another lemon.
STEP 4
Connect all the lemons—coin to screw—as in step 3. For the last lemon, attach a wire to its coin, but don't connect it to the screw in your first lemon. Instead, attach another wire to that screw.
STEP 5
Each LED has two legs, which are slightly different lengths. With the free end of the wire that is attached to the coin, fix the clip to the slightly longer leg of the LED.
WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?
The two different metals, used as electrodes, are placed in the lemon, which can conduct electricity because it contains acid, an electrolyte. One metal collects an excess of electrons, while the other metal loses electrons. This positive and negative flow between the electrodes creates the electric charge. Learn more at Sciencing.
Materials:
- 5 lemons
- 6 short electrical wires with clips at each end
- 5 copper coins
- Sharp knife
- 5 galvanized screws
- LEDs (at least one color)
Please Note
Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Power tools, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous, unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear and adult supervision. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. Use of the instructions and suggestions found in Maker Camp is at your own risk. Make Community, LLC, disclaims all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense.
Maker Camp Project Standards
Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.Structure and Properties of Matter
- Grades K-2
- 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
- 2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
- 2-PS1-3. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.
- 2-PS1-4. Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
- Grades 3-5
- 5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
- 5-PS1-2. Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
- 5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
- 5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
- MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
- MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
- High School
- HS-PS1-1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
- HS-PS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
- HS-PS1-8. Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
- HS-PS2-6. Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Chemical Reactions
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
- MS-PS1-5. Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
- MS-PS1-6. Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
- High School
- HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
- HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
- HS-PS1-5. Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
- HS-PS1-6. Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
- HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Learn more.Forces and Motion
- 3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
- HS-PS4-5. Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
- 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
NGSS MS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
- MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
NGSS HS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
- HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
- HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
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