Investigating Fruit Batteries

Learning challenge: Can you design an experiment to produce the biggest voltage in a

fruit battery.

Inquiry question: What factors affect the voltage produced in a fruit battery?

What do you see?

What do you think?

What do you wonder?

The Challenge:

Find the best combination of fruit and metal to get the biggest electrical potential.

You need:1. A focused question or aim2. List of equipment to use3. A labelled circuit diagram4. A 5 step method

This is my method:Step 1: __________________________________________________Step 2: __________________________________________________Step 3: __________________________________________________Step 4: __________________________________________________Step 5: __________________________________________________

My question is: ______________________________________________________The equipment I need is:1. __________2. __________3. __________4. __________

5. __________6. __________7. __________8. __________

This is my circuit:

Fruit Used:__________

Zinc Copper Magnesium Iron

Zinc

Copper

Magnesium

Iron

Metal 1

Metal 2

P: Was the voltage the same or different when you changed the

combination of metals?

Extension: Was the voltage the same or different when you changed the type of fruits?

Ev: How do you know this?

Ex: Why did the voltage change when the metals or the fruits

were changed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtHt00AN0pU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhbuhT1GDpI

ConclusionInquiry Question: What factors affect the voltage produced in a fruit

battery?

Research and answer these questions.

3 Why is there a + end and a – end?

6 Why don’t batteries electrocute you?

1 What are batteries? What is inside them?

2 What do batteries do, and how?

4 How come some batteries are rechargeable and some are not?

5 Why can’t batteries work a washing machine?

Fruit Positive electrodeNegative electrode

Potential difference (V)

Write a report to say which

combination of fruit and metal is

best.

Record your observations in a table like this.

Fruit Used:__________

Zinc Copper Magnesium Iron

Zinc

Copper

Magnesium

Iron

Metal 1

Metal 2

Fruit Used:__________

Zinc Copper Magnesium Iron

Zinc

Copper

Magnesium

Iron

Metal 1

Metal 2

Fruit Used:__________

Zinc Copper Magnesium Iron

Zinc

Copper

Magnesium

Iron

Metal 1

Metal 2

Fruit Used:__________

Zinc Copper Magnesium Iron

Zinc

Copper

Magnesium

Iron

Metal 1

Metal 2