2018

NAME: Dechen Om

CLASS: XI SCI A

SCHOOL: NIma Higher Secondary

School

YEAR: 2018
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Any accomplishment requires the effort of many people and for my completion of this
project, many people have provided their initiatives.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the BHSEC and REC
(Royal Education Council) for giving us this opportunity to showcase our abilities and
our knowledge in a form of this project.

I would also like to thank our physics teacher Sir Bedarnadhi Bandhari for facilitating
and advising me on how to go on about this project. Without your support and guidance
I would have been able to successfully complete this project.

I should not forget to acknowledge my parents, relatives and my friends for their
feedback and motivation as a ladder to my project work. I would especially like to
thank my friend Tandin Gyeltshen for his valuable feedback and encourag ement in
realizing my potential. I even wish to express my gratitude to those who may have
contributed to this project, even though anonymously.
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ABSTRACT

The objective: For my science project this year I chose to do potato batteries. My main
objective was to see if my potato batteries could be affected by the change in the
temperature. I tested my potato batteries in a series of different ways and had attempted
to do generate power from various kinds of potatoes like the boiled, freeze and nor mal
potatoes. This gave me enough trials to come to a conclusion. I chose this topic because
I was curious about the power generation from the potato batteries and the effect of the
temperature that can determine the power supply of them. After all the experiments and
research I got really interested in the science of batteries and just electricit y in general.
Thus, I decided to prepare a model of a potato battery with simple potatoes and some
electrodes.

Key words:

Voltage

Current

Electrodes

Wires

Power supply
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INTRODUCTION

Batteries are devices with the ability to store energy, which in turn can be used to
generate electrical energy. This phenomenon is able to take place due to some specific
chemical reactions within the battery which is able to convert the chemical energy
within the battery to produce output of electrical energy.

The chemical reaction generally occurs between two processes of metals called
electrodes and an ionisable solutions called electrolyte. Similar reactions and results
can be obtained by inserting two plates of metal (electrodes) in a potato the liquid
(moisture) present inside the potato functions as an electrolyte. Thereby, producing
results similar to battery. A number of factors can affect the current produced by
electrolysis occurring in the potato. Of which temperature lays a critical role. It can
affect the energy of the electrolysis process itself directly or effect the resistance of the
wire in the circuit.

I particularly chose this topic or this topic stroked my mind because generating
electricity out of the potato is something new that I can experiment on. We have always
used batteries and electrical circuits to produce electricity but using potato to produce
electricity is a new kind of way to improve livelihood. It really became my interest to
work on the mechanism of the potato and its ability to produce energy.
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PROBLEM STATEMENT:

How does the temperature effect the power supply of the potato batteries?

HYPOTHESIS:

If I increase the temperature of the potato then the power supply of batteries will also
increase.
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BACK GROUND RESEARCH

Potato Battery

A potato battery is an electrochemical battery, otherwise known as an electrochemical

cell. An electrochemical cell is a cell in which chemical energy is converted to electric
energy by a spontaneous electron transfer. In the case of the potato, th e zinc in the nail
reacts with the copper wire. (Emily,2005)

A battery is something that causes chemical energy to be converted into electricity.

Batteries have a positive side (terminal) and the negative side (terminal). The negative
side is the source of the electrons that gives the energy to a wire that is connected to an
electronic device. Batteries power electronic devices when connect with a conductive
material, such as wires.

The potato battery is a type of electrochemical battery, or cell. Certain m etals (zinc in
the demonstration below) experience a chemical reaction with the acids inside of the
potato. This chemical reaction creates the electrical energy that can power a small
device like an LED light or clock. Incredible, huh?

There are a few different ways to create batteries. Different batteries can be made from
different electrolytes (acidic fruits, vegetables and liquids) and different electrodes
(metals). (Wendy,2018)

The California Energy Commission mentions that the potato battery at its most basic
got one more helping hand when, in 1800, Alessandro Volta, from whose name the term
“volt” comes, invented the voltaic pile—which is really just a fancy way of saying he
invented the battery. (Jun 12, 2011)
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Similarities between Potato Batteries and Electric Batteries

The liquid electrolyte in a battery is similar to potato juice. Potato juice ionizes
substances into their ions in a solvent just like electrolyte. That’s what makes a potato
similar to an electrical battery, In order for it to give the potato power. In this same
way, potato juice makes the electrons go in either the anode or the cathode. Then all the
electrons travel through a wire from the anode to the cathode. Another similarity is that
potato batteries and electrical batteries both have a limited amount of energy. When the
flow of electrons in the battery stops, the energy runs out. Even though these two items
have different acid levels on the ph scale they are both acidic enough to produce
electricity.

Voltage and Its Important In a Battery

In a conductor, electrons can jump from one atom to another atom. Electrons need an
electrical force to push them along. This force is called voltage. Voltage measures the
amount of potential energy in a circuit. One end has more energy than the other. It is
measured in volts, which, is the potential energy difference between two ends.
In a battery voltage measures how much potential energy is in the battery. Potential
energy is closely related to voltage. In order to get potential energy in joules we need to
multiply the voltage by a charge. In an electrical circuit, the charges that move around
the circuit are called electrons.

Basic Parts of a Battery

In a battery there are two ends. One is the positive terminal and the other is the negative
terminal. The positive terminal is named the cathode. The negative terminal is named
the anode. In the middle there is electrolyte. Electrolyte is a liquid that ionizes
substances into their ions. A circuit connects the anode and the cathode in order to keep
the flow of electrons going on
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Voltage in Potatoes

Potatoes contain phosphoric acid. It's the acid in the potato that allows a chemical
reaction to take place. The potato battery works when a copper plate and a zinc plate are
placed in contact with the phosphoric acid inside the potato. The copper plate a nd a zinc
plate become the battery's terminals or electrodes. The acid reacts with the copper and
removes electrons. The copper plate ends up missing some electrons, which gives it a
slightly positive charge. The acid also reacts with the zinc plate. In th is case the acid
dissolves the zinc and leaves some of its electrons behind on the zinc plate. The excess
electrons on the zinc plate and the lack of electrons on the copper plate result in the
creation of voltage in the system. If the zinc plate and the c opper plate are connected
together with a wire, the excess electrons move from the zinc plate to the positive
9charge on the copper plate. These moving electrons are called electrical current. (
allpcb,2012)

Watts Produce by Potato

One potato produces a stream of 0.8 watts. However, through the process of boiling a
potato for 8 minutes and cutting it into four or five pieces you can increase the output
by 10 times, leaving you with an output of 8 watts of electricity for about 40 days.

Acid Present in Potato

A high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed to quantify the
major organic acids in potatoes oxalic, citric, malic, fu- maric and ascorbic acids.

Lasting of Potato Battery

If you're using a piece of metal that only has a little bit of zinc on it, then it won't last
very long at all. But if you use a big, solid piece of zinc, your battery could go for a
really long time! A potato battery will last until the potato goes bad. It usually lasts up
to 2-5 days. (Apr 22, 2013)
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Working of a Potato Battery

The science fair variant of the potato battery works because of zinc and copper
electrodes. The electrodes use the potato as a salt bridge, allowing ions to travel across
the potato creating electricity. The researchers at yissum found that boiling the potato
prior to electrolysis increased the output of the potato battery by as much as 10x more
than the one which were not boiled.( Casey,2010)

Potato batteries require two different metal electrodes with different electrical qual ities
to work. The most common materials are zinc and copper. The acids in the potato react
with the metals, creating an electron imbalance at each electrode. Because it keeps the
ions formed by the reaction separate, but conducts electricity via its water and
electrolytes, the reaction forces the electrons in the copper electrode to move. This
movement of electrons is an electric current and is sufficient to power small devices.

Some scientists have actually researched potatoes as a practical form of power . While
many different plants can serve as batteries, potatoes are especially durable due to their
high starch content. They do not rot easily or attract pests to the same degree as fruits
and other alternatives. Cooking potatoes reduces their electrical r esistance and actually
makes them much more powerful as batteries.
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USAGE

A potato battery can conceivably be used in a number of application. It could power a

cell phone or radio, providing remote villages with the means to connect with the
outside world. Combined with a LED light source the battery could produce energy to
provide weeks of cheap lighting. Further, like traditional batteries , the potato batteries
can be linked together to provide more power, this ability to scale makes them p erfect
for running refrigerators or other equipment at rural clinics. ( Casey, 2010
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EXPERIMENT:

Aim: effect of temperature on potato batteries.

Independent Variables

1. Nature of potato

Dependent Variables

1. The change in the temperature of potatoes

Materials required:

Three or more potatoes [of same sizes]

Zinc plate

Copper plate

Wires [copper, etc.]

Ammeter

Voltmeter
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DIAGRAMS

Zinc and copper electrodes mechanism of potato batteries

Three potato batteries in Series connection

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Procedures:

1. Collect three potatoes.

2. Boil one of the potatoes in water, put one of the potatoes in the fridge and keep it
for 24 hours.

3. Now you should have three kinds of potatoes, boiled potato, refrigerated potato
and a normal potato.

4. Now after the potatoes have been boiled and freeze, get two types of electrodes,
which are copper and zinc plates.

5. Put one copper plate and zinc plate in a normal potato and connect a wire from
each point of the electrodes.

6. Now connect the wires to an ammeter and check the readings.

7. And now record the readings.

8. Now follow the same procedures and do the same experiment with two other
potatoes.

9. As you conduct the experiment, record the values.

10. At the end of the experiment, compare the values with each other to find which
battery is more productive.
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Observation

Sl. Potatoes kept at Voltage current

No different temperature
Potato kept in a
1 refrigerator

Potato kept at room

2 temperature

3 Boiled potato

Result and Analysis

The result of the

Conclusion
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Reflection

Doing this project was not only a satisfactory learning experiment but it was also a very
interesting and fun project to do. It gave new knowledge of producing voltage and
current from a vegetable like potato and making use of that current in our daily lives.
While performing various experiment it gave feelings like enthusiasm and crave to
learn more and do more.

The best and foremost outcome of this project is that it proves that a potato can produce
voltage and current on its own and that can be used in various forms to make a
comfortable living.

Though the overall experiment was fun, it still faced number of challenges to reach its
final outcome. Some of them are connection of wires which needed to be perfect to get
perfect and correct results, to maintain the correct temperature of different potatoes and
to get

Given the opportunity in future I would like to extend this same experiment on other
vegetables and fruits like lemon, radish, cucumber, etc to produce higher voltage and
current efficient for at least to light and to charge a phone when neded.
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Bibliography