Potato Battery

An Alternative Solution for Energy

Questions

1. What makes a potato similar to an electrical battery?

2. What is a voltage and why is it important in a battery?

3. What are the basic parts of a battery?

Abstract

For our science project this year we chose to do potato batteries. Our main objective was

to see if my potato batteries could power a small buzzer or a high efficiency L.E.D. We tested

our potato batteries in a series of different circuity designs. This gave us enough trials to come to

a conclusion. We chose this topic because as the science fair neared, we started electricity in our

class. After all the experiments and research we got really interested in the science of batteries

and just electricity in general. We decided to learn more about electricity, so we looked into

some projects related to the topic and thought this was the best and most interesting. Batteries

generate electricity through a chemical reaction between two different electrodes and

electrolytes. It turns out that the moisture inside a potato works pretty well as an electrolyte, so

we can add metal electrodes to the potato, and you have a battery.

Objective

Our main objective was to see if our potato batteries could power a small buzzer or a high

efficiency L.E.D.

Research

Batteries have 3 parts

1. An anode which is the negative terminal

2. A cathode which is the positive terminal

3. The electrolyte which is a compound that ionizes when dissolved in a solvent

The chemical reactions in a battery cause the electrons to build up at the anode. This

result in chemical differences between the anode and the cathode. This difference is an unstable

buildup of the electrons. The electrons want to arrange themselves so that there is no longer a

difference. But they must do this in a specific way. The electrons repel each other and try to go

to the place with the fewer electrons. But, the electrolyte keeps the electrons from going straight

from the anode to the cathode inside the battery. When the circuit is closed the electrons will be

able to get to the cathode.

In the picture above, the electrons go through the wire, lighting the light bulb along the

way. However, these electrochemical processes change the chemicals in anode and cathode to

make them stop supplying electrons. So, there is a limited amounts of power available in a

battery (That’s when the battery runs out). Potatoes naturally contain salt, one of the most

important ingredients for conducting electricity. In electricity, salt is important for conducting

the current in the form of ions. When combined with water, the salt breaks apart into separate

ions, conducting positive and negative charges to power a small electronic device.

Questions
1. What’s makes a potato similar to an electrical battery?

The liquid electrolyte in a battery is similar to potato juice. Potato juice ionizes

substances into their ions in a solvent just like electrolyte. That’s what makes a potato similar to

an electrical battery, in order for it to give the potato power. In this same way, potato juice makes

the electrons go in either the anode or cathode. Then all the electrons travel through a wire from

the anode to the cathode. Another similarity is that potato batteries and electrical batteries both

have a limited amount of energy. When the flow of electrons in the battery stops, the energy runs

out. Even though these two items have different acid levels on the ph scale they are both acidic

enough to produce electricity.

2. What is a voltage and why is it important in a battery?

In a conductor, electrons can jump from one atom to another atom. Electrons need an

electrical force to push them along. This force is called voltage. Voltage measures the amount of

potential energy in a circuit. One end has more energy than the other. It is measured in volts,

which is the potential energy difference between two ends. In a battery voltage measures how

much potential energy is in the battery. Potential energy is closely related to voltage. In order to

get potential energy in joules we need to multiply the voltage by a charge. In an electrical circuit,

the charges that move around the circuit are called electrons.

3. What are the basic parts of a battery?

In a battery there are two ends. One is the positive terminal and the other is the negative

terminal. The positive terminal is named the cathode. The negative terminal is named the anode.

In the middle there is electrolyte. Electrolyte is a liquid that ionizes substances into their ions. A

circuit connects the anode and the cathode in order to keep the flow of electrons going on.

Main Question

Will the potato light the L.E.D. longer or power the buzzer longer?

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Hypothesis

We think that the buzzer will be powered on the potato batteries the longest. This is because it

consumes the least amount of energy, 0.8 watts, compared to a L.E.D which consumes 1.02

watts.

Materials

o Veggie power kit which includes:

 3 copper electrodes

 3 zinc electrodes

 6 alligator clip leads

 1 digital multimeter with test leads

 3 Piezoelectric buzzer

o IPad

 L.E.D

 Buzzer

Procedure

1. Create a table. We will use this table to record the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit

current of our potato batteries and record whether or not they can power the light-emitting diode

(L.E.D.) and the buzzer.

2. Measure the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of a single potato battery.

3. Assemble your potato battery

4. Record whether or not a single potato battery can power the L.E.D. and the buzzer

5. Record and analyze your data

Data

 The open circuit voltage of a single potato series is 954 millivolts

  The open circuit voltage of two potatoes series is 926 millivolts

 The open circuit voltage for three potatoes series is 860 millivolts

 The closed circuit voltage of one potato series is 1 Volt

 The closed circuit voltage of two potato series is 0.6 Volts

 The closed circuit voltage of three potato series is 1.0 Volts

 You cannot measure the open circuit voltage of a potato with parallel

 The open circuit voltage of two potatoes parallel is 847 millivolts

 The open circuit voltage of three potatoes parallel is 824 millivolts

 You cannot measure the short circuit voltage of one potato with parallel

 The short circuit voltage of two potatoes is 0.7 volts

 The short circuit voltage of three potatoes is 0.9 volts

Quantative

Number of Series or Open circuit Short circuit Lights the Powers the
potatoes parallel voltage current L.E.D (yes buzzer (yes
or no) or no)
1 N/A 954 1. No Yes
2 Series 926 0.6 No Yes
3 Series 860 1.0 No Yes
1 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2 Parallel 847 0.7 No Yes
3 Parallel 824 0.9 No Yes

Conclusion

Will the potato light the L.E.D. longer or power the buzzer longer?

In conclusion the buzzer was lit up the longest because the L.E.D. didn’t light up at all.

One thing that went wrong was that the L.E.D. didn’t light up. If our experiment went right the

L.E.D. should’ve lit up. If we tried our experiment with 4 to 5 potatoes the L.E.D. would

probably light up. We did some research as to why the L.E.D. didn’t light up and we found that

the L.E.D. needs more energy to light up. Our hypothesis was correct. The buzzer was powered

the longest. But we were surprised to see that the L.E.D. didn’t light up at all. We thought that

the L.E.D. would light up but not as long as the buzzer, so in a way we were wrong. In real life

we could use potato batteries for lighting up small little things like a remote control or a small

clock. If we were to do this experiment differently, we would use a few different items to test on.
We would use an alarm clock, a flashlight and a TV remote control. Another thing that we would

do different is to try with 4 and 5 potatoes too.

Advantages

- in the future it can power almost 20 hours of light.

-can be used in areas where electricity is not provided.

-can be easily replaced

Disadvantages

-some batteries are dangerous and can lead to fire, explosion, chemical pollution.

-some types of batteries need to be maintained and checked frequently.

Terms and Definition

ANODE – an anode is a negative electrode and it’s one of the essential parts of a battery

ATOM – an atom is a particle of matter that uniquely defines a chemical element

BATTERY – a battery is a device that stores energy and then discharges it by convertin

chemical element energy into electricity

BUZZER – an electronic device that makes a buzzing sound

CATHODE – the positively charged electrode of an electrical device

CHARGE – a physical property that causes matter to experience a force within an

electromagnetic field

ELECTROCHEMICAL – of, or relating to a chemical reaction brought about by electricity

ELECTROLYTE – a substance that breaks up into ions when it is dissolved in water or body

fluids

ELECTRON – an electron is a negatively charged subatomic particle that can be either bound to

an atom or free
ION – an atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more

electrons

JOULE – the amount of energy exerted when a force of one newton is applied over a

displacement of one meter

L.E.D. - a light emitting diode (a semiconductor diode which glows when a voltage is applied)

MILLIVOLT - a unit of electromotive force equal to one thousandth of a volt

POTATO – an erect south american herb of the nightshades family widely cultivated for its

edible starchy tuber

VOLTAGE – is the pressure from an electrical circuit’s power source that pushes charged

electrons

WATTS – is the unit of power or radiant flux in the international system of units

Bibliography

•http://www.miniscience.com/projects/PotatoElectricity

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolyte

•http://www.ask.com/question/how-does-a-potato-battery-work

•http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/

cub_energy2/cub_energy2_lesson04_activity2.xml

•http://www.ehow.com/about_6640109_do-potatoes-produce-electricity_.html

•https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resistance-and-ohms-law/all

•http://www.reprise.com/host/electricity/voltage.asp

•http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/

energy_p010.shtml#summary