ELECTRIFYING FRUITS AND VEGGIES

Question:
What similar fruits and vegetables to potatoes and lemons can produce electricity?

Hypothesis
I think yams and carrots will be able to generate electricity because they are root foods, much like the potato. I also think oranges and limes will be able to generate electricity because in my research, citric acid is able to make a chemical reaction with the wires that make an electrical current.

Purpose

• AddWhen I was looking for my science project, I thought of how potatoes create electricity. first list item here
• I thought that having a project of potatoes creating electricity was too basic.
• I went to look for some, and I found out that lemons could also produce electricity.
• I wondered, what similar fruits and vegetables generate electricity?
• While I was thinking about if these fruits and vegetables would work,I realized I had just found my science project!

Research

• Potatoes have the high acidic count (pH) of about 5. 5 is a neutral number in a pH scale, but it is good to be cautious. With this acidity, potato can have a chemical reaction to create electricity. I also observed that they are similar to potatoes. Lemons have a high acidity level of about 2.4. This amount is considered acidic in a pH scale.
• With this acidity, they can power small objects. Like the potato, the acid causes a chemical reaction with the two wires. When the acid interacts with the two metals, they create a electrical current. Before the fruit, or vegetable is able to produce electricity, it goes through a chemical reaction.
• The two different wires that are placed in a medium create a chemical reaction called "oxidation reduction."This means one can take electrons, and the other can lose electrons. The wire that receives electrons is an operation called reduction. The other wire that loses electrons is a process called oxidation.

Materials

• LED light Red electrical wire (recommend 4 inches) Black electrical wire (recommend 4 inches)
• Copper rod (recommend 3 inches) Steel rod (recommend 3 inches) Alligator clips
• Fruits (oranges, limes, lemons, etc.) Vegetables (yams, carrots, potatoes, etc.)

Procedure

• First, with my wires and alligator clips, I created a model. It had an alligator clip at both ends of each wire. This model connected the rods from the fruits and vegetables to the light bulb.
• With the lime and orange, I kneaded the a bit so that the juices will flow from the pulp, since that is where the citric acid is.
• After I finished, I stuck the copper and steel rods in my first fruit.
• The wires needed to be far from each other to get the best electrical current.
• Then, I connected the wires and rods to the light bulb.

Results

• For the first two tries of my experiment, nothing happened. I later found out that it was because the light bulb had too many watts. I changed it to a night light of lower watts, and the element (thing that makes the light bulb light up) started to flicker.
• This happened with all the fruits. I went to get a LED for the experiment because LEDs need less energy, like the night light. The LED that I had needed about 20 milliamps to power it. When I tried with the LED, nothing happened.
• My dad recommended checking with a multimeter tester to see if the fruits and vegetables did have an electrical current. They all had an electrical current. Here are the results:
• Lime: 3.5 milliamps Orange: 13 milliamps Yam: 2 milliamps Carrot: 2.5 milliamps

Conclusion

• From my experiment, I found out a lot of information about electrical currents, and which fruits and vegetables can generate electricity. All the fruits and vegetables that I tested were able to produce an electrical current, but they were not able to meet my expectation of lighting up the light.
• If I were to do this experiment again, I would try to use multiple fruits and vegetables to light up a light bulb, since the lights needed more energy. Another thing I would do is to find a better website with more information.
• A time I could do my experiment again would be during camping or some type of event having to do with the outdoors. I would then make a light from a fruit or vegetable and see how long the light could last me.
• It is not only fun, but environmental. With the electricity from this produce, we could save energy.