Potato Battery
Project Overview: This project will show you how to light up an LED bulb using a potato, a zinc nail, a penny, and wires. Understand how chemical reactions can create electrical energy with household items. Learn what a battery is and how to build one, what a circuit is and how to complete one.
Materials:
2 medium-sized potatoes
1 zinc nail
1 copper penny
3 alligator clip wires
1 LED bulb
Instructions:
Insert the zinc nail into one side of the potato, and push the copper penny into the other side of the potato. Ensure the two items are NOT touching each other inside of the potato.
Connect one end of the alligator clip wire to the zinc nail. Use another alligator clip wire and connect it to the copper penny.
LED lights have a shorter leg (negative) and a longer leg (positive). Connect the wire from the penny to the longer leg and connect the wire from the nail to the shorter leg. Once you do this, the LED light should glow very dimly.
Grab the second potato and set it up the same way (Step 1).
Connect the nail of the first potato to the penny in the second potato using another alligator clip wire. Connect the remaining nail and penny to the LED light. Now that there are two potatoes, the LED light should shine brighter!
