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Orange/Lemon Battery

  • Page ID
    131417
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    Required Training

    Required PPE

    UC Lab Safety Fundamentals

    Lab coat, safety glasses/goggles, nitrile gloves

    Equipment

    Chemicals

    Lemons or Oranges

    House setup of Zinc/Copper electrodes

    LED light, watch, or voltmeter to measure/visualize current

    Procedure:

    1. Insert the Cu and Zn electrodes into the fruit.
    2. Connect the metal clips to an LED light and see it glow (light is dim, so you may need to turn off the lights).
    3. Clips may also be attached to a watch to see the seconds hand move or to a voltmeter to measure the voltage
    4. Increasing the number of fruit will create a high voltage
    5. Be sure to wipe down the electrodes with a paper towel after use

    Discussion:

    The current derives from the oxidation of Zn metal and the reduction on H+ ions. Zn atoms dissolves in the acidic citrus juice leaving 2 negatively charged electrons (e-) behind in the Zn anode.

    Zn → Zn2+ + 2 e-

    As Zn enters the solution, 2 positively charged H+ ions pick up 2 electrons at the Cu cathode and form H2 gas.

    2H+ + 2e- → H2

    The electrons lost by Cu are replaced by 2 e- from the Zn anode that have traveled through the wire. The electrical current is produced by the movement of electrons in the circuit. During oxidation, Zn looses electrons to reach a lower energy state; the energy released provides the power to turn on the LED, start the watch, etc.

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    Hazards:

    N/A

    SOP

    N/A

    Disposal (by Storeroom)

    Used lemons can be tossed in the trash.


    Orange/Lemon Battery is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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