PROCEDURE

BOOK
GEOBACTER ELECTRICITY

NADZMI KHALIF B MOHD KHAIRIL

NURIN AFIQAH BT HEZERIHISYAM
MRSM TUN ABDUL RAZAK, PEKAN, PAHANG

1
 TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE 1

TABLE OF CONTENT 2

VOLUME OF MUD 3

SURFACE AREA OF ELECTRODE 6

TYPE OF ELECTRODE 9

PRESENCE OF FERTILISER 11

TYPE OF MUD 13

CIRCUIT SYSTEM 16

2
 VOLUME OF MUD
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the volume of mud and the voltage
produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Does the volume of mud affect the voltage produced?

HYPOTHESIS
Volume of mud does not affect the voltage produced.

VARIABLES
Manipulated : Volume of mud
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Surface area of electrode, Type of mud

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter, Stopwatch

MATERIALS
Mud, Aluminium foil, Carbon rod

TECHNIQUES
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker.
 It is compulsory to read the measurement of the volume of the mud at exactly
the starting of the meniscus level.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil by using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as the
aluminium foil and cut it by using a utility knife.
 Cut the aluminium foil by using a utility knife.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable reading value of the voltage produced by
using a stopwatch.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.

PROCEDURE
1) Choose the mud you want to use as your electrolyte.
2) Fill a 500 ml beaker with 100ml of mud.
3) Dip a carbon rod and a strip of aluminium foil into the mud without both
electrodes touching each other.
4) Wait for one minute to get a stable reading value of the voltage produced.
5) Record the value of the voltage produced.
6) Repeat step 2 to step 5 with different volumes of mud; 200ml, 300ml and 400 ml,
500 ml.
7) Tabulate the data and convert it into a graph.

3
 Figure 1: 400 ml of mud produces 0.98V

Figure 2: 400 ml of mud produces 0.98V

4
RESULTS

Volume of Mud against Voltage Produced

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
100 200 300 400 500
Voltage produced (v) Current (mA)

Graph 1: Volume of mud against voltage produced

DISCUSSION
The volume of the mud does not affect the voltage produced because we use the
same type of mud. The mud we use has the same concentration of bacteria so, thus
the volume of the mud does not affect the voltage produced.

CONCLUSION
Volume of mud does not affect the voltage produced. Therefore, the hypothesis is
accepted.

5
 SURFACE AREA OF ELECTRODE
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the surface area of electrode and the
voltage produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Does the surface area of electrode affect the voltage produced?

HYPOTHESIS
Surface area of electrode does not affect the voltage produced.

VARIABLES
Manipulated : Surface area of electrode
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Volume of mud, Type of mud

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter, Stopwatch

MATERIALS
Mud, Aluminium foil, Carbon rod

TECHNIQUES
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker.
 It is compulsory to read the measurement of the volume of the mud at exactly
the meniscus of the level perpendicularly.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil by using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as the
aluminium foil and cut it by using a utility knife.
 Cut the aluminium foil by using a utility knife.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable reading value of the voltage produced by
using a stopwatch.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.

PROCEDURE
1) Choose the mud you want to use as your electrolyte.
2) Fill a 500 ml beaker with 400ml of mud.
3) Dip a carbon rod into the mud, first.
4) Then, dip an aluminium electrode of the size 36 cm into the mud without
touching the carbon rod.
5) Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced.
6) Record the voltage produced.
8) Repeat step 2 to 5 with different surface area of electrode; 54cm, 72cm, 90cm,
108cm.
9) Tabulate the data into a graph.

6
 Figure 3: Different sizes of electrode

Figure 4: A 108cm of electrode produces 0.81V

Figure 4: 108cm of electrode produces 0.81V

Figure 5: A 36cm of electrode produces 0.71V

7
RESULTS

Surface Area of the Electrode against

Voltage Produced
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
36 54 72 90 108
voltage produced (V) Current (mA)

Graph 2: Surface Area of the Electrode against voltage produced

DISCUSSION
The surface area of the electrode does not affect the voltage produced because the
electricity production relies on the Geobacter itself, where it will release electrons to
act as a current carrier.

CONCLUSION
Surface area of electrode does not affect the voltage produced. Therefore, the
hypothesis is accepted.

8
 TYPE OF ELECTRODE
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the type of electrode and the voltage
produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Does between the type of electrode affect the voltage produced?

HYPOTHESIS
Zinc and carbon are the best pair at producing the highest voltage.

VARIABLES
Manipulated : Type of electrode
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Surface area of electrode, Type of mud, Volume of Mud

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter, Stopwatch

MATERIALS
Mud, Aluminium foil, Carbon rod, Zinc plate, Copper rod

TECHNIQUES
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker
 Must measure the volume of mud at the measurements’ meniscus level.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as zinc plate.
 Cut the zinc plate using a utility knife.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced by using a
stopwatch.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.

PROCEDURE
1) Choose the mud you want to use as your electrolyte.
2) Fill a 500 ml beaker with 200ml of mud.
3) Dip a carbon rod and a zinc plate into the mud without both electrodes touching
each other.
4) Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced.
5) Record the voltage produced.
6) Repeat step 2 to 5 with different pair of electrodes consisting of zinc plate,
aluminium foil, carbon rod and copper rod.
7) Tabulate the data into a graph.

9
RESULTS

Type of Electrode against Voltage Produced

0 0.5 1 1.5
zinc carbon copper

DISCUSSION
Zinc plate and carbon rod are the best pair of electrode at producing the highest
amount of voltage. This is because zinc and carbon are placed on top of each other
in the reactivity series. Therefore, it will produce he highest amount of voltage. Pairs
with copper does not produce the highest voltage because copper rod can be too
inert at times to the point it does not exert enough ions to produce the highest
amount of voltage.

CONCLUSION
Zinc and carbon are the best pair at producing the highest voltage. Therefore, the
hypothesis is accepted.

10
 PRESENCE OF FERTILSER
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the presence of fertiliser and the voltage
produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Does the presence of fertiliser affect the voltage produced?

HYPOTHESIS
Fertiliser helps at increasing the voltage produced.
VARIABLES
Manipulated : The presence of fertiliser
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Surface area of electrode, Type of mud, Volume of mud

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter

MATERIALS
Mud, Zinc plate, Carbon rod, Fertiliser

TECHNIQUES
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker
 Must measure the volume of mud at the measurements’ meniscus level.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as zinc plate.
 Cut the zinc plate using a utility knife.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced by using a
stopwatch.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.

PROCEDURE
1) Choose the mud you want to use as your electrolyte.
2) Fill a 500 ml beaker with 200ml of mud.
3) Mix 2 tablespoons of fertiliser into the beaker thoroughly.
4) Dip a carbon rod and a zinc plate into the mud without both electrodes touching
each other.
5) Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced.
6) Record the voltage produced.
7) Repeat step 2 to 5 with a beaker full of mud with no fertiliser in it and also a
beaker of fertiliser only.
8) Tabulate the data into a graph.

11
RESULTS

Presence of Fertiliser against Voltage Produced

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

DISCUSSION
Fertiliser helps the increment of voltage produced because fertiliser mainly consists
of ions; Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium ions. Therefore, when we add them
into our mud, it will increase the number of current carrier in the mud, thus
increasing the voltage produced.

CONCLUSION
Fertiliser helps at increasing the voltage produced. Therefore, the hypothesis is
accepted.

12
 TYPE OF MUD
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the type of mud and the voltage produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Does the type of soil affect the voltage produced?

HYPOTHESIS
The mud beside the river will produce the highest voltage.

VARIABLES
Manipulated : Type of mud
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Surface area of electrode, Volume of mud

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter

MATERIALS
Different samples of mud, Aluminium foil, Carbon rod

TECHNIQUE
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker
 Must measure the volume of mud at the measurements’ meniscus level.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as aluminium
foil.
 Cut the aluminium foil using a utility knife.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced by using a
stopwatch.
PROCEDURE
1) Choose the mud you want to use as your electrolyte; the mud inside the river.
2) Fill a 500 ml beaker with 200ml of mud.
3) Dip a carbon rod and a strip of aluminium foil into the mud without both
electrodes touching each other.
4) Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced.
5) Record the voltage produced.
6) Repeat step 2 to 5 with different samples of mud; mud beside the river, black
soil, outfall, waste product, swamp and paddy field.
7) Tabulate the data into a graph.

13
RESULTS

Type of Mud against Voltage Produced

1.20
1.02 1.05
1.00 0.90

0.80
0.62 0.65 0.64
0.60
0.40
0.40

voltage produced (V)

0.20

0.00
IN RIVER BESIDE RIVER BLACK SOIL WASTE OUTFALL PAYA PADDY
PRODUCT

DISCUSSION
The mud beside the river produces the highest amount of voltage. This is because
the concentration of Geobacter beside the river is the highest so therefore, it wil
produce the highest voltage. Every other mud also has its value in voltage but they
varies based on the concentration of Geobacter inside the sample itself.

CONCLUSION
The mud beside the river will produce the highest voltage. Therefore, the hypothesis
is accepted.

14
 Figure 2: 400 ml of poop produces 0.40V

Figure 1: 400 ml of mud in swamp produces 0.79V

15
 CIRCUIT SYSTEM
AIM
To investigate the relationship between the volume of mud and the voltage
produced.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
How many aluminium tubes do we need to produce 10V of electricity?

HYPOTHESIS
12 aluminium cylinders could produce 10V of electricity.

VARIABLES
Manipulated : Number of aluminium tube
Responding : Voltage produced
Constant : Surface area of electrode, Type of mud, Volume of mud in each tube

APPARATUS
Beaker, Wire and crocodile clip, Digital multimeter

MATERIALS
Mud, Aluminium foil, Carbon rod

TECHNIQUES
 Measure the volume of the mud using a 400 ml beaker
 Must measure the volume of mud at the measurements’ meniscus level.
 Measure the length and width of the aluminium foil using a ruler and a pencil.
 Mark the height of the carbon rod, which will be the same length as aluminium
foil.
 Cut the aluminium foil using a utility knife.
 Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced by using a
stopwatch.
 Press the mud down to remove air bubbles.

PROCEDURE
1) Wrap an aluminium foil into a cylindrical shape.
2) Insert 100 ml of mud mixed with fertiliser into the cylinder of aluminium and
press it down to remove air bubbles.
3) Dip a carbon rod into the centre of the aluminium walls.
4) Repeat step 1 to step 3 until there are 12 cylindrical containers.
5) Connect the carbon rods and aluminium cylinders using wires into a series
circuit.
6) Connect the end of each unoccupied crocodile clips to the digital meter.
7) Wait for one minute to get a stable value of the voltage produced.
8) Record the voltage produced.

RESULTS

16
 Number of aluminium tubes affects voltage
produced
12
NUMBER OF ALUMINIUM TUBES

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

voltage produced (V) current produced (mA)

DISCUSSION
As we know, the volume of mud does not affect the voltage produced so, therefore
we could scale down the size of our model and use a smaller volume of mud to
produce higher voltage of electricity. In our case, averagely one aluminium tube will
produce around 0.8V to 1.0V. Thus, when we make 12 tubes and connect them into
a series circuit. We will finally produce around 10V of electricity.

CONCLUSION
12 aluminium cylinders could produce 10V of electricity. Therefore, the hypothesis is
accepted.

17
 Figure 4: 1 aluminium tube produces 1.01V

Figure 3: 12 aluminium tube produces 9.91V

18