Background Research
Throughout history engineering of electricity has revolutionized tremendously. Starting in 1752 with the tying of a key onto a kite, to 2012 with cars running on electricity. Electricity is one of the world’s greatest discoveries of all time. Electricity is a form of energy. It is used throughout millions- billions of homes throughout the world, to power so many things. Electricity comes from many things, like burning fuels, or even solar panels. But one thing that I thought of was what if fruits and vegetables could product electricity? Throughout my experiment I want to discover if electricity is produced through a potato, if it is how much is produced and why?
Potatoes are vegetables. They contain high amounts of vitamins, fiber, and starch. Potatoes give us energy. The fact that potatoes have energy plays a big part in their ability to give of electricity. According to www.knowswhy.com, “Potatoes in general do not store electricity.” In my research I read information about potatoes being used as batteries to power clocks. Potatoes do not store energy like an actual battery; they simply give electricity the ability to flow through its starch salt and water in order to power the clock.
It has been proven that it is the liquid (salt, starch and water) inside the potato that helps the electricity flow throughout the vegetable. To add variables to my project I changed the different types of potatoes I will use. One of the potatoes I will use to conduct my experiment is a sweet potato. According to www.webmd.boots.com/healthy, “Sweet potatoes are already high in antioxidants, with seven times more polyphenols than white potatoes.” Thanks to my research I strongly feel that the sweet potato will conduct the most electricity out of all three potatoes.
Another big question I had while researching my project was "What is the role of the zinc and cooper electrodes?” According to http://www.bristolwatch.com/pdf/dc_ohms_law.pdf “The electrical conductivity of an alloy falls between the metals that went into them. Brass is a better conductor than zinc, but not as good as copper. In copper wire we use pure copper to make the best conductor.” I also learned from this source that silver is in fact the best conductor of electricity but is too high in price to use in our wires. All of this information connects to my project simply by saying that I am using some of the best conductors for electricity. If I wanted to take this experiment EVEN FURTHER I could add the variable of using silver in replace of zinc since it is not the strongest element used to conduct electricity. Another very interesting fact I found out through research was: the first battery that was designed in 1799 created by a man named Alessandro Volta. He used zinc and copper metal in his design of the battery.
One thing that concerned me when starting this science fair experiment was learning how to use the multimeter that came with the kit. With the help of a few YouTube videos and the Internet, I was successfully able to understand the come grounds and safely precautions of using a multimeter. One of the most important things I learned in one YouTube video was that the black lead is ALWAYS in the jack labeled COM.
In conclusion, throughout my research I got to fully understand the ins and outs of my project. Now I can be make sure the experiment is conducted correctly to get accurate and clear data/ results.
Potatoes are vegetables. They contain high amounts of vitamins, fiber, and starch. Potatoes give us energy. The fact that potatoes have energy plays a big part in their ability to give of electricity. According to www.knowswhy.com, “Potatoes in general do not store electricity.” In my research I read information about potatoes being used as batteries to power clocks. Potatoes do not store energy like an actual battery; they simply give electricity the ability to flow through its starch salt and water in order to power the clock.
It has been proven that it is the liquid (salt, starch and water) inside the potato that helps the electricity flow throughout the vegetable. To add variables to my project I changed the different types of potatoes I will use. One of the potatoes I will use to conduct my experiment is a sweet potato. According to www.webmd.boots.com/healthy, “Sweet potatoes are already high in antioxidants, with seven times more polyphenols than white potatoes.” Thanks to my research I strongly feel that the sweet potato will conduct the most electricity out of all three potatoes.
Another big question I had while researching my project was "What is the role of the zinc and cooper electrodes?” According to http://www.bristolwatch.com/pdf/dc_ohms_law.pdf “The electrical conductivity of an alloy falls between the metals that went into them. Brass is a better conductor than zinc, but not as good as copper. In copper wire we use pure copper to make the best conductor.” I also learned from this source that silver is in fact the best conductor of electricity but is too high in price to use in our wires. All of this information connects to my project simply by saying that I am using some of the best conductors for electricity. If I wanted to take this experiment EVEN FURTHER I could add the variable of using silver in replace of zinc since it is not the strongest element used to conduct electricity. Another very interesting fact I found out through research was: the first battery that was designed in 1799 created by a man named Alessandro Volta. He used zinc and copper metal in his design of the battery.
One thing that concerned me when starting this science fair experiment was learning how to use the multimeter that came with the kit. With the help of a few YouTube videos and the Internet, I was successfully able to understand the come grounds and safely precautions of using a multimeter. One of the most important things I learned in one YouTube video was that the black lead is ALWAYS in the jack labeled COM.
In conclusion, throughout my research I got to fully understand the ins and outs of my project. Now I can be make sure the experiment is conducted correctly to get accurate and clear data/ results.