Using inquiry investigation, the girls asked if lemons could power a digital clock. They stated the problem, stated the hypothesis, planned the investigation, made a mind map, anticipated problems, built the clock, drew conclusions, and learned about electrochemical cells and the properties of electricity. The girls will continue to experiment with tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, and soft drinks. Did you know the first battery was made by Italian scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)? Another fun fact is that the cooper and zinc strips are called electrodes, and the lemon is called an electrolyte.
Do you think that there is enough current to light a light bulb?
ReplyDeleteWhat would happen if you used just cooper strips and not the zinc strip? Would that work?
PS-Lauren has crazy hair in the picture!
Dear Mommy,
ReplyDeleteI (Lauren) know that I have crazy hair. Our lemon clock had accurate time this morning. We experimented with just copper strips and no zinc strips-the clock did not work. Today we tried to see if the digital clock works with grapefruit. And yes, grapefruit powers a digital clock. As far as running a light bulb, our lemon set up produces about five volts of electricity so we will need to experiment. We have to find a way to connect the wires to a light bulb. This is a work in progress.
Love,
Lauren and Samantha
Further experimentation shows that these also work as electrolytes: syrup, onions, apple cider, strawberries, and garlic cloves. We made strawberry bruschetta and French onion soup for lunch today so we had some interesting ingredients handy!
ReplyDelete