Design:

Materials:

 LED light bulb

 Assorted fresh fruits and vegetables (i.e. carrot, apple, pear, squash,
lemon)
 1 potato
 1 shiny penny
 1 galvanized steel nail
 2 eight inch lengths of copper wire
 A knife
Title:

 A lemon battery is a simple battery often made for the purpose of

education. Typically, a piece of zinc metal and a piece of copper are
inserted into a lemon and connected by wires.

Context and Rationale:

 To create your battery, you will need one lemon, galvanized nails
(they must be galvanized, because galvanized items have zinc in
them, and zinc is very important to this experiment), copper wire, an
LED bulb (such as those found in Christmas lights), miniature jumper
cables and a multi meter to measure the voltage.
To create the battery, roll the lemon around and squeeze it gently to
release the juice inside. Next, take a nail and stick it about two inches
into the lemon. Take a piece of the copper wire and stick it two inches
into the lemon, making sure it doesn't touch the nail.
Introduction:

 The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether there is

enough energy stored in a fruit or a vegetable to power an LED light.
This experiment can be taken further to determine how long a fruit or
vegetable can power an LED for.

Research question:

 How is energy stored in a fruit or vegetable?

 How to we measure this type of energy?
 How do we usually use the energy stored in plants?
 Where do plants get their energy from?
 How much energy is stored in a typical potato?
 How much energy is stored in the other fruits or vegetables you are
using?

Importance:
 With the help of a few household items, a potato can be used to
power a light bulb. All living organisms contain energy and it may be
possible to tap into and use some of that energy in our everyday
lives. Given that our main source of energy, fossil fuel, is in limited
supply, it is important for scientists to explore the use of alternative
energy sources. Many natural, green energies are already being used
around the world, but there is still a lot to learn about utilizing
alternative energy sources. By developing planet-friendly ways to
draw energy from the world around us, we can decrease our use of
polluting energy sources which will help keep the air, water and soil
clean for future generations.
Current knowledge:

 Batteries are containers that store chemical energy, which can be

converted to electrical energy—or what we call electricity. They
depend on an electrochemical reaction to do this. The reaction
typically occurs between two pieces of metal, called electrodes, and a
liquid or paste, called an electrolyte. For a battery to work well, the
electrodes must be made up of two different types of materials. This
ensures one will react differently than the other with the electrolyte.
This difference is what generates electricity. Connect the two
electrodes with a material that can transport electricity well (called
a conductor) and the chemical reactions fire up; the battery is
generating electricity! As you make connections, note that electricity
likes to take the path of least resistance. If there are multiple ways to
go from one electrode to the other, the electricity will take the path
that lets it flow most easily.

Hypothesis:

 The battery you just made has a copper and an aluminum electrode
separated by electrolyte lemon juice. It will generate electricity as
soon as the electricity has a path to flow from one electrode to the
other. You created this path using strips of aluminum, a material that
conducts electricity well.

By connecting your battery to your fingertip, you allowed the small

amount of electricity it generates to run through your body. This
amount of electricity can create a tingling feeling in a fingertip.
Experiences will differ from person to person. Some people might
only feel the bigger signal generated by connecting several batteries
in a particular way. Letting the aluminum strips touch provides a very
easy way for the electricity to run from one electrode to the other, so
almost no electricity will travel through your body and the tingling
sensation disappears. Plastic and wood do not conduct electricity
well; none will be felt when using these materials as connections.
References:

 Decker, Franco (January 2005). "Volta and the

'Pile'". Electrochemistry Encyclopedia. Case Western Reserve
University. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Volta used
silver, not copper, in his first cells; the chemical reactions involved in
zinc/copper and zinc/silver cells are the same.
 ^ Snyder, Carl H. (2004). The Extraordinary Chemistry of Ordinary
Things, with Late Nite Labs: Edition 4. John Wiley &
Sons. ISBN 9780471588399.
 ^ Jump up to:a b Oon, Hock Leong (2007). Chemistry Expression: An
Inquiry Approach. Panpac Education Pte Ltd. p. 236. ISBN 978-981-
271-162-5.
 ^ Jump up to:a b c Goodisman, Jerry (2001). "Observations on Lemon
Cells". Journal of Chemical Education. 78 (4): 516–
518. Bibcode:2001JChEd..78..516G. doi:10.1021/ed078p516.
 ^ "Lemon Battery". Pembroke, Ontario: Hila Science Camp.
Retrieved 2012-10-02. This webpage describes experiments starting
with a single lemon cell that is studied with a multimeter, and then
leads to a lemon battery capable of lighting an LED. Hila Sci ence
Camp has also posted a video showing how to build the battery and
light an LED; see Create a Lemon Battery on YouTube.